The Drabbles of Axel and Roxas
by NakanoHana
Summary: A series of short stories and one shots about: who else? Stories may contain: love, angst, drama, fantasy, canon-verse, friendship, violence, fluff, goofiness, sensitive topics, AU, parody, meta-humor, regular humor, another character making a cameo, and/or sexual themes. Today, Axel makes an offer that Roxas simply cannot refuse.
1. Not Even a Memory

This one is muuuccchhh shorter than my other stories so far, but if you can't guess, I based it off of the time Roxas spent in the Twilight Town simulation. Only now with a little strange twist. Enjoy this literal short :)

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><p><em>"My Roxas..."<em>

It seems like every night for a while now, I've been having the same sort of dream. Admittedly, it's not a very impressive dream as far as dreams go. Some people dream of monsters or adventures or even of memories...

But this dream does seem a bit familiar to me. I can't quite place how, and yet there's that feeling again. Something warm and slightly shaky touches my face, so light that I might not have felt it if I wasn't partially awake. An even warmer, _wetter _something brushes my lips...

This is the part where most people might jerk awake, kick off the blankets and sweat it out until they come back to reality. But for some reason, I don't. It's like I don't want it to end, but a part of me is screaming to understand. Who is this shadowy man who haunts my dreams? Why can't I stop him or keep him away? Even better: why don't I _want _to keep him away?

_"Roxas..."_

His voice is a soft murmur, low and maybe even a little raspy. My eyes are closed, but somehow I can see everything clearly, feel everything clearly. Whenever this man comes, he comes all in black; some kind of a leather jacket, I suppose? The metal on the drawstrings glitters in the moonlight streaming through the window. They remind me of wind chimes, but not as noisy. More peaceful. The man also has the wildest, redest hair I think I've ever seen in my life. It blazes like fire in spikes down the back of his head. It's weird. I never see his face, but the next morning, I can always remember that hair and that coat. It feels like the strangest part of my dream...at least to me.

This dream man...he comes to my room in the night; never when I'm awake. He says strange things, which sometimes I can catch. Things about being a 'nobody' and how it was much simper just being a 'nobody.' Sometimes he talks about me, I think. Something about "waking up," that regardless of whoever has me, I will 'disappear' very soon. It's never something very good or comforting; his words never are. But his touches are so different. He could be speaking so coldly and yet hold my face as though it were the most precious thing in the world to him.

I'm afraid, but I can't bring myself from this sleep. Almost like I'm paralyzed or comatose in this dream, all I can do is listen when I'm allowed.

I think he knows this. Or hopes it maybe. Maybe that's why he returns so often, even if I can never reply...

His lips hesitate against mine, and yet they feel so_ warm_. I wish I could say something more, but I settle for being able to return the kiss. It's all I can ever do. Even though I'm afraid, I feel some force inside telling me that it's alright. But why?

Finally, he pulls away, but his hand is still caressing my cheek.

_"I can't avoid it forever," _he sighs faintly. _"If I don't bring you back soon, the boss man'll be pissed. Probably make me a dusk soon." _

I don't know what that means, but his other words confuse me. It sounds like he needs me for something. To take me somewhere...But then, why doesn't he just do it? In this state, it's not like I could fight.

_"I miss you, buddy. I wish things could go back the way they were." _

Why can't they though?

_"I don't need to go looking for a heart. It feels like I have one just being around you."_

All this talk of 'hearts' and the 'way things were' just irritates me now. If I could, I'd smack him and tell him just to come out and say it. What the hell does he want?

I think my face must have shown something, because I heard him chuckle after that.

_"Too corny? Okay, kid, I got it memorized."_

The dark shadow of his face moves closer again and this time, miraculously, I get a glimpse of his eyes. Green like jades and narrow like a cat's. They look down at me with an almost wicked gleam, but under that I feel...warmth?

Those eyes only meet mine for a second before I shot up out of bed, panting and sweating like I'd just fought the Struggle Tournament. I glanced around but didn't find him anywhere. The window is open, a gentle breeze blowing the curtains aside as cool air flows into the room. Somehow, I never remember leaving that window open after these dreams...

Who is that man? Why do I feel like I know him? And even though his presence scares me a little, like a silent threat, why do I feel so cold and lonely when he leaves?

"Roxas? Honey, are you alright?"

A blonde woman stands in the doorway across from the window. I pause a moment before I recognize her. Mother.

"Just...just a dream..." I murmur, reaching up to my head to try and ward of the throbbing headache I suddenly felt consuming me. Too much to think about. I want to know who that man is and why he comes here so often. What is he searching for? Why does say one thing and do the opposite?

"Well, alright then. Goodnight dear." She doesn't come in and check my temperature, doesn't even pause long before she shuts the door again. Suddenly the room feels cold and lonely again, and I wish i could call her to come back. But whenever I try to say "Mother," it feels...wrong to me somehow. I can't remember the last time I had actually seen her around the house. It's like she wasn't even there most of the time.

Ugh...too many confusing things...

I looked back out the window and thought of that man, with his wild red hair and glowing green eyes. Even though i was afraid, he never hurt me. He would speak harshly every now and again, but he never hurt me. What was his name?

But the pain in my head was getting to be too much. Soon I was forced to fall asleep again, with only the lingering feel of his kiss and a few stray tears in my eyes to full more dreams of him. A vaguer, darker, and even more senseless dream. Not even a memory...


	2. Stresses and Messes

A naughty little short, day whatever the heck :) Stress does bad things to Axel

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><p>"Are you sure this is going to work, Dem?"<p>

"Of course!" the blonde chirped, giving a quick tug to make sure the rope was taut and ready. This whole scheme was the result of almost a week of no missions for either of them, as well as the stubbornness of a certain other blonde member of the organization. Boredom was a very dangerous thing.

"What if this just makes him angrier?" Axel asked, an almost unnoticeable uneasiness in his voice. The question of whether or not he really _felt _uneasy was for another time. For now, he was willing to ignore it and take this risk. He needed this _bad._

"Don't worry, man! If Roxas gets pissy, I'll just take all the blame."

The redhead looked at him skeptically, about to turn the corner to his hiding place in the room. "And you're okay with that because...?"

The other boy shrugged. "Hey, I owe you a favor from last time, right? You_ really_ need this?" He was answered with a nod, and chuckled. "Then don't worry about it. It worked well enough on Zexion..."

"Wait, you tried this on Z_exion?" _Axel looked even more skeptic now. "And it worked?"

"Well, it was smaller than this trap. Same basic concept, though. And yeah, it worked. Like you wouldn't believe." Demyx gave a dreamy sigh, and Axel had to roll his eyes. Trust the idiot to be further gone on the illusion of 'feelings.' Maybe he took it a little too seriously...but then again, he _looked _'happy.' For once, maybe Demyx knew something he didn't, and that was something Axel would rarely ever admit.

"Spare me the details." A heavier sigh. "I guess I'll just take your word for it. Speaking of Zexion, how'd you agree to get him to do this?"

The blonde chuckled. "He wanted no part of it. I convinced him to accept the tiniest roll, but it wasn't easy. He should be pointing Roxas this way soon."

The redhead nodded. Good. Roxas wouldn't be making any detours this way. He'd go straight to his room, only to find-

"Oh shit! I think that's him!" Demyx pressed closer to the door and listened. "Yep! Roxas is coming this way!"

"Quick, get behind something, you twat!" Axel hissed, waving his hand frantically. True, Demyx had been unusually willing to help him this time, but it the blonde somehow managed to screw this up, then the other boy had plans to beat him within an inch of his nonexistence. Yes, he was _that _desperate. No heart didn't mean his body didn't have needs and 'feelings' of its own, and Roxas was being a real stickler this week, mostly due to the stress of his overload of missions.

'_Oh, I'll relieve some of that stress for you...' _Axel thought wickedly, watching with deep focus as Demyx dove behind the bed and the door began clicking. The knob turned, a crack of light from the hall appeared through the door space, and soon, the redhead could see blonde spikes poking through already. The boy heaved a heavy sigh.

"Finally, bed. Now I can just-"

There was a loud creak, a splash of liquid, and suddenly a scream. The precariously placed bucket had fallen from above the doorway, completely soaking Roxas through.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Axel resisted the urge to chuckle. Demyx jumped out first.

"Haha! Got you!"

He was met with furious, burning blue eyes.

"DEMYX! HOW THE HELL DID YOU- WHAT THE FUCK AM I COVERED IN?" he shouted, lifting the arm of his black coat and examining the liquid clinging to it with barely suppressed rage. "OH, WHAT THE- IT'S STICKY! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

Demyx wasted no time in elaborating. "It's melted sea salt ice cream! Do you like it?"

"NO! THIS STUFF IS ALL OVER ME!" After a deep breath, and controlled fist clenching at his sides, the smaller blonde growled, through gritted teeth, "Couldn't you have just given me an ice cream instead of pouring this crap on?"

Demyx tilted his head to the side innocently, though his smile made it obvious that it really wasn't.

"But you said that one time: 'This stuff is so good. I could swim in it and I'd be in heaven.' Remember?"

"I DIDN'T MEAN LITERALLY!" Another moment of deep breaths, as the boy tried calming himself down. Looking away with a hand pressed to his tired eyes, Roxas didn't see Axel creeping closer, making his move.

"Really, this is something I expect from Axel. Now I'm going to have to shower to get all this crap off!"

"Or you could go with Plan B."

The small blonde yelped and almost fell over. Axel had snuck up behind him somehow without him noticing, and was now standing over him, eyes sweeping with a gleam that was anything but chaste. The redhead caught him before he could fall, and now he wasn't letting go.

"I'm almost afraid to ask." Though he had a pretty good idea of what irritating friend had in mind. Another sigh, followed by a tired glance over his shoulder. "You were in on this too, huh?"

Axel grinned. "Nooooooo..."

Roxas looked to Demyx, who shook his head. "Nope, it was all me! But hey, if Axel wants to stay and help with the _cleanup, _great. Less stuff for me to do. Bye!" And with that last bit, he snuck past the two of them and ran out the door, letting it close behind him with a slam.

Once it had been quiet for a few minutes, Axel squeezed his arms around Roxas tighter and whispered in his ear.

"Come on, Roxy. It's been a whole week. I'm just itching for another go."

A huff. "I said no, Axel. Why can't you just accept it and leave me alone for right now? Can't you go find someone else to be your fuck buddy?"

The redhead felt a pang in his chest at that, right where his heart should have been. Whatever it was, he didn't like it. Even if he couldn't feel, it gave him the illusion of sadness. Despite all his tension and needs, Axel really did want to see the blonde as something more. How he hadn't quite figured out, as of yet. But Roxas was his friend, and now something more?

Maybe it was better not to have hearts. Emotions were so confusing, even if they weren't real!

"I don't...I don't want that..."

The boy looked up at him, slightly taken-aback. Surely Roxas could detect his weird _'feelings' _as well, and Axel was pretty sure he felt the same way. And both of them were confused as all hell. But hey, why not give in to it? They could figure out the hard stuff later.

Pushing that aside quickly, Axel smirked again, leaning close to blow on the blonde's ear.

"Please, Roxy. Just once," he whispered, pausing to nibble the shell of his ear too. Roxas shivered pleasantly at the feeling, and Axel smirked wider. He just might get his way tonight. "I know you want it."

A moment of silence passed before the blonde slowly began to relax in his arms. This time, a much lighter sigh came, followed by a gently amused tone.

"Alright. _Once. _Just to get you off my back. Besides, whatever Demyx says, I know I didn't say that crap about the ice cream. This is gross!" he yelled, waving his blue-coated arms. He could feel the stickiness in his hair and running down his neck, among other places...

Axel chuckled, brushing his lips against the younger boy's cheek and letting his tongue flick out a bit to taste. "I don't know. It tastes good to me."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Pervert."

Another laugh. "And don't you forget it." He bent down and scooped up the blonde in his arms, carrying him out the door and to his room.

"H-Hey, Axel! This is embarrassing! Couldn't we just g-get this over in my room?"

Axel shrugged, still smirking like a cheshire cat.

"I need to get some..._stuff _out of my room anyway."

It didn't matter though. Nobody saw them, or if they did, they neither asked nor cared. Roxas got to unwind, and Axel cured both his sex and ice cream fixes for the day. In the end, everyone went home 'happy,' or as 'happy' as you can be in a world that never was.


	3. Show Me Fireworks

"Shouldn't you be over there with them?" Roxas shouted over the boom. Large explosions of color lit up the sky around them, and here he was, busy asking his boyfriend stupid questions. So typical.

Axel tightened his grip on his wrist and pulled him forward, trying to keep a patient smile on his face.

"They'll be fine without me. I told my boss I had a special date planned for tonight."

Ever since leaving his job at the organization, Axel had gone back to school to pursue his life-long interest in explosives and pyro-techincs. He now worked for the company setting off these fireworks tonight, and usually he refused to be anywhere else but over there, firing them up into the sky. But tonight was special; it need to be just right. And his stubborn, clueless boyfriend wasn't helping matters much.

Roxas frowned at him. "You could have just changed our date, you know. You didn't have to miss out on your job." The man knew how much he loved working with the fireworks, experimenting and firing them. At any other time, he would have felt endeared to the understanding blonde, but not now. Now, Axel was just about ready to smack him.

"It's fine, okay?" he snapped, a little harsher than he'd planned. He didn't mean it, but the bag of food slung over his arm was too heavy. The sand underneath his feet wasn't cooperating well with him either, and that made him irritable. He noticed Roxas stiffen a little at his tone, and sighed heavily. "Sorry, alright? I didn't mean to snap at'cha. Just...don't ask questions. Follow me."

The blonde snorted. "That sounds like the line you used to try and pick me up when we were in school. Oh...wait. That one, and 'got it memorized?'" The younger man chuckled to himself, but obliged the redhead, following close behind. "You're the corniest bastard I've ever met."

Axel rolled his eyes, but he submitted to the teasing without any verbal complaints. Whatever got the man moving faster. They needed to be further up the beach, in the private area, if his little plan was going to run smoothly.

Unfortunately, tonight, it didn't seem like fate was on his side. Roxas was chatting all through the awesome fireworks, occasionally shooting him questions, whining, "Are we there yet?" And the ever popular line, "Axel, my feet are killing me. Can we stop?"

'Why am I dating this kid again?' He thought, as they struggled along, passing the awestruck crowds as the watched and clapped, little children squealing and dancing with their little glow sticks. A couple little boys were fighting with them like Jedi.

"Axel, is there a reason why we're walking away from the fireworks?"

"Yeah," he said impatiently. "It's just a little further up this way. Pick up your feet, short stop."

"HEY!"

Axel smirked to himself and let go, preparing to take off at a run. That had done it. Roxas _hated _cracks about his height. The sand made it hard, but thankfully his long legs aided him, carrying him clumsily over a few dunes, as the blonde chased behind. "YOU GET BACK HERE, AXEL! GET BACK HERE AND TAKE YOUR MEDICINE!"

"NEVER!"

They ignored the few indignant stares from people watching the show and kept running, the blonde's angry cries slowly morphing into breathy chuckles. Axel knew he was beat when he reached a small hill. There was no way he could run up that quickly, and he was running out of breath as it was. Then, suddenly, he felt Roxas smash into his back like a ton of bricks, sending him to the ground and rolling back down the few inches he'd managed to climb. The bag landed somewhere next to them, and had no doubt scooped up enough sand in their sandwiches that they wouldn't be salvageable. By the time he looked up at the sky and spat out the heap of sand that had gathered in his mouth, Roxas was over him, straddling his hips and smirking evilly.

"I win." A hand trailed down his chest, and the blonde leaned down close to his face. "So, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Before Axel could even open his mouth, a loud explosion went off, insanely close. Roxas jumped on top of him and clutched a hand to his heart, eyes widening when they rose to the sky. He read the words spelling out there in bright colors, and a wide range of emotions spelled out over his face. Axel laid still and watched as they unfolded, and finally, he began to feel that flutter in his heart. Nervousness, hope...

"My god..." The words began to fade from the sky, and Roxas's head snapped down. Axel felt his breath catch, seeing the new light in those blue eyes he adored so much. He laughed. "You corny bastard! You didn't!"

The redhead smiled hesitantly. He wasn't generally a nervous sort of guy; he'd been the school badass in high school and always had a bit of trouble expressing his emotions since then. But something about Roxas always disarmed him. The blonde could see through him, and bring out a side of him many of his friends didn't see. Or...was it that the man had changed him?

Axel didn't know for sure, but Roxas made him feel better, more comfortable. And he _did _know one thing. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.

"So you liked it?"

The young man above him smiled and leaned down further, and soon he felt soft lips brushing his own.

"I love it."

More colorful sparks rose into the air and spelled out the words over and over again above them, flashing with shapes of hearts all around them, but neither man really bothered to notice. The message was heard loud and clear, and the reply was even louder. The truth of it was, the kisses they shared gave Axel all the fireworks he could ever want.


	4. How Wrong You Are

"Roxas, come back here. Let's talk this over." Axel knew his voice was breaking a bit, but he was trying to keep calm and not make the situation worse. The wind tussled his hair and almost blew it into his face; luckily he managed to push it back without losing his grip on the wall. He silently cursed himself for not pulling it back before he came all the way up here, but he'd had no time to think. Who wouldn't have panicked in a situation like this?

Roxas stood several feet away from him, turned to face the open sky, and simultaneously the ground below. He was standing on a thin ledge eight stories high, tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked from the ground to Axel, then back again. He seemed hesitant, which could mean just about anything, but Axel was hopeful. Hopeful that he could talk his love out of making the biggest and most final mistake of his life.

The initial commotion had drawn a crowd below; firemen with several small trampolines, people from that office who had just returned from their lunch breaks and noticed the boy standing on the narrow ledge high above. Roxas's twin brother was down there as well, with his boyfriend Riku, clinging to him as the man with the megaphone lifted it to his lips again.

"Come down, son. Whatever it is, it's not worth your life."

The comment was directed at Roxas, and as he began to sob again, Axel looked over his shoulder to glare at the man. He waved him off, trying to indicate that it wasn't helping, and almost lost his balance in the process. Screams from below quieted when they saw him still clinging there for dear life, but the tension in the air was still too thick to even cut with a knife...

"Roxas, please. Tell me what's wrong," the redhead called above the wind and general noise of the crowd.

The blonde looked over at him and sniffled. "I can't, Axel. I'm...I'm a terrible boyfriend. You deserve so much b-better."

"Roxas, don't say that!" Axel shook his head and inched closer, pausing when the other boy began to step back. "Whatever is going on, we can work through it! I promise! I love you!"

Roxas sobbed loudly.

"I know! I know, but I...I have to do this! It's the only way!" His foot slowly slid closer to the edge, half off of it, and Axel swore under his breath. He didn't know what to say because he had no idea what was wrong. Recently he had come back from a summer internship he'd been doing in the next town over, and he expected to be welcomed home most by his sweet and loving boyfriend. But Roxas was different somehow. His smiles were thin and weak, and seemed more quiet than he used to be. Roxas shied away from the simplest embraces, but he still insisted on spending time with Axel every day, religiously.

It worried Axel, and finally he'd said something to him earlier that day. Roxas froze up at the seemingly innocent question, and tears welled in his eyes. When his boyfriend tried to comfort him, the blonde pushed him away and ran out the door. By the time he'd found him again, Roxas was here, on the outside edge of this building. And that had scared the redhead to death.

The thought of losing Roxas was so unbearable that it hurt...

"Roxas, don't you love me?"

The boy's head snapped up, his teary eyes wide. "O-Of course, Axel! I l-love you so much!"

"Then why won't you talk to me?"

"I can't!"

"Why can't you?" Axel urged, still slowly moving towards him when the blonde seemed distracted.

"I JUST CAN'T!"

This was getting nowhere fast, but nowhere could easily take a turn for the dangerous. Axel chose not to think about how they were both precariously dangling off the edge of this building. They would make two gruesome splats on the pavement if they happened to slip just so...

"If you love me," Axel urged, moving more confidently towards his distraught boyfriend, "You'll come back where it's safe and tell me what's wrong!"

His voice did break into panic then, and Roxas looked at him, startled. But at last, that seemed to get through to the boy. Roxas nodded, wiping a tear from his eye carefully, and Axel breathed a sigh of relief. Things were far from okay, but at least now he could coax the blonde to come back to him. He was sure that whatever was bothering him was something they could talk out, easily. He'd do anything to make Roxas happy again. They may have only been going out for a few months, but Axel cared about him so much already, even more than when they had just been friends.

The wind picked up again, and Axel carefully moved to brush the hair out of his face again, when he heard the squeak of sneakers and a terrible scream from below.

"ROXAS!"

Scrambling for a better hold on the wall, Axel didn't think. Luckily his nails grasped an uneven brick in time, as the rest of him dove out to catch the blonde before he fell. With a grunt, the redhead pulled the boy back up into his arms and crushed him close, feeling him shiver violently. The crowd quieted again for a moment, and then the man with the megaphone spoke up again.

"Hold on, boys! A ladder's on the way! We're coming to get you!"

Axel sighed again, then looked down to see the teary face crushed against his chest. Roxas clung to him tightly, eyes clenched shut as he slowly began to calm down. Very slowly, blue eyes opened and found his, and that already sad face twisted with more misery and pain.

"Axel, I'm so sorry..."

"Shhhh. It's alright." He nuzzled Roxas's cheek slightly, offering him a warm and understanding smile. "I've got you. We're both going to be fine."

His boyfriend nodded, but he didn't seem all that reassured. Soon enough, a fireman came up with a ladder, and Axel reluctantly let him go so that he could climb down. Once down himself, Axel smiled when he saw the blonde being pulled into the arms of his brother.

"Oh God, Roxas! I was so worried about you!" Sora pulled away from him quickly and grabbed his face, holding it as he glared into his twin's eyes. "Don't you EVER do that to me again."

Roxas, who was usually the quiet, docile twin, surprised everyone by pushing his brother back, snapping at him angrily.

"It's always about you, isn't it Sora?" he said sarcastically. "You only care because it'd be a bother to you!"

The brunette looked hurt, but didn't back down.

"That's not true! I love you, Roxas! How could you even think of doing something like this?"

The blonde took a step back nervously as Riku came up beside Sora. He quickly glanced at the ground, quivering again.

"I..." He struggled to find the words.

"Guys, back off. Leave him alone," Axel snapped, a bit impatiently. In truth, he felt the same way they did, but he didn't want to risk upsetting Roxas much more. It hurt him to see his boyfriend look so torn and broken. He wanted to be there to support Roxas; to love and stand by him no matter what.

Roxas sank to the ground slowly and began to cry. Within seconds, Axel was beside him, touching his shoulder comfortingly.

"Tell me what happened now, Roxy," he whispered. He had a right to know. Roxas seemed to understand, and after several minutes of trying to compose himself, the boy finally managed to speak, albeit softly.

"I-It was about a month after you left. I-I was hanging out with Hayner and Pence at our usual spot, but they had to leave e-early. Summer homework," he explained, looking down at his hands guiltily. The blanket the fireman had given him was hanging off his shoulders a bit, and I reached up to pat his back soothingly, urging him silently to continue.

"I-I was fixing the place up a little, so it took me a while. It was d-dark when I finally got ready to leave, b-but before I could, Seifer came in...a-alone..."

Sora and Riku had settled on the ground beside us, after they had thanked the firemen for their help. People were slowly returning to business as usual around them, but many curious stares were directed at Roxas, causing him to clam up and shy away slightly. Axel sighed.

"Do you want to go someplace else to talk about this?"

Roxas quietly accepted the offer, and together they got up and left, going to find Riku's car. Axel wrapped an arm around Roxas protectively, and though the boy didn't look at him the whole way, he often leaned closer and cuddled against his boyfriend, almost desperately.

They sat in Riku's car, Axel and Roxas in the back seat, but chose not to drive anywhere. With the windows up and the air conditioning on, they patiently waited for the blonde to continue.

"Seifer, he...he wouldn't let me leave. He kept pushing me, calling me out...asked me what I was going to do about it. Finally I pushed back, cuz I was tired...but h-he started laughing at me. He said I was weak and pathetic. I tried to get past him then, but he pushed me down...and he...h-he..."

Axel pulled him close, ignoring the way Roxas seemed to go rigid in his arms. "What did he do?"

The boy's eyes filled with tears again, and he shuddered.

"He...raped me..." he whispered.

Riku's hand clenched on the steering wheel. Sora's eyes widened, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but stayed awkwardly in place, watching sadly as his younger twin began to cry again. Axel's eyes flared murderously, the irises seemingly overtaken by burning, green flame. He pressed Roxas closer, feeling his skin prickle as the boy spoke again.

"T-That's why I had to jump! I-I betrayed you, Axel! I l-love you s-so much, but I...I'm not good enough for y-you! I never w-was! But now I'm so w-worthless! Disgusting!" he cried, though he still clutched the older boy tightly for comfort.

Axel's eyes instantly softened, and he looked deeply into those crystal blue eyes, gently wiping the tears away.

"Roxas, it's not your fault. You're not worthless, or disgusting."

The blonde shivered. "B-But I-"

"No." He brought a finger to those soft lips, preventing them from spewing any more nonsense. "I love you. I wish I had been here for you." Maybe he couldn't have prevented it from happening, but it pained him to know the boy had kept it all inside and let it eat away at him. He'd had to deal with the pain all alone. "What's done is done. But nothing could ever keep me from loving you."

Roxas sniffled and buried his face against the sleeve of Axel's shirt.

"H-How can you say that? You w-were supposed to be my first. I promised-"

Axel hushed him softly again, giving him a small smile. "That doesn't matter now. Besides, you know me. Virginity isn't that big a deal." After all, he'd had several girlfriends in the past, and practically all of them he'd slept with. Roxas never judged him for it when they were friends, but he seemed hell-bent on saving himself for Axel when he was ready, and the older boy had respected that.

"Believe me, Rox. This isn't worth killing yourself over." Axel planted a sweet kiss on his neck and sighed softly. "I know you're scared and hurt, but believe me, it'll get better. And when it does, you'll be glad you didn't jump off that building today."

"That's right, Roxas," Sora chimed in from the front, smiling kindly. "Plus, think of all the people who love you. We'd miss you so much if you were gone."

Riku nodded his agreement, and Roxas lifted his head, sniffling again.

"I thought no one would miss me..."

Very gently, Axel took his face in his hands and kissed him, watching with humor as the boy blinked at first, surprised. He pulled away after a short while, much to both parties' disappointment, but he had to make his point. Pressing their foreheads together, the redhead smiled at him.

"You're so wrong, kid, it's not even funny."


	5. How This Works

"Excuse me, sir."

I slowly drew out of my peaceful, drifting world, and became aware of the soft pattering against the window,. Was that rain?

With a groan, I opened my eyes and turned my head so my cheek was pressed to the table, looking up wearily at whoever dared to disturb me. The light over my booth was flickering constantly, which was slowly beginning to annoy me, adding to the throbbing headache I already felt. Everything was already dark and hazy, and the blob in front of me was no different. To the right of it was the window, and sure enough, it was pitch black outside, in the middle of the day.

Damn it all.

"Sir, you gotta buy something or get out. Store policy."

My gaze shifted finally towards the blob again, which was finally starting to take on some solid form. I slowly registered blonde hair, gelled up in a ridiculous fashion.

Heh. Like I had room to talk there...

It still looked soft, oddly enough; not unattractive to me. And as my eyes moved lowered, I saw piercing blue meet my gaze. There was a tired, irritated look to them, but still, strangely entrancing. I numbly registered the rest of him. The downward curve of the lip, the hand cocked against the hip just so, the other reaching out, lightly grazing my arm-

Ow! Hey!

"Sir."

I shook my head to clear it a bit, and sat up straighter, shooting him a look. So what if he was kinda cute? He was ruining my nap.

"I bought something already." My voice had a dry, almost embarrassing croak to it. The boy looked decidedly unimpressed, as he picked up my empty glass.

"That was over an hour ago. This isn't a hotel, just so you know. If you need one of those, try down the street."

Leaning against my hand, I yawned, glancing around to the rest of the restaurant. Other lights at other booths seemed to be working just fine. Old time music played through a muffled speaker; stuff that sounded just barely post depression era, if my intuition was right. The only other people I could see were an old man sitting at the bar, drinking and talking to the bartender, and a middle aged lady smoking in the corner booth. Wasn't there a law against that now?...ah, hell if I really care.

"You don't exactly look bustling with business," I muttered, giving him a sidelong look. I wonder if he'd complain if I had a quick smoke...

The kid scoffed lightly, leaning back against the outside of the booth opposite me. "Maybe so. But that doesn't mean you can just sleep here all day. You're costing me, the more you sit around here without buying anything."

I raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "How so?"

He sighed. "It's one less table available to some actual _paying _customers."

"Hey! I'm gonna pay!"

The kid looked doubtful. "Yeah, sure, but what about the tip?" He shook his head, looking a bit deflated. "I see guys like you coming in and out of here all the time, and when they do, that means less money for cheap beans and saltines, which I kind of need to survive. So pardon me if I seem skeptical."

I snorted. "Didn't your folks ever teach you not to stereotype?"

The kid rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I don't need jerks like you coming in here and waisting my time and money." He turned to walk away then, pausing briefly. "I'll bring your check by in a minute."

"Hey, hold on a second." I grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him back. Not too hard, of course, but he still seemed miffed. "All I meant to say is you shouldn't judge other people based on shit you haven't seen them do. I'll buy something else if you want. Go ahead and grab me another coffee. Black."

The blonde kid sighed heavily. "Whatever. Back in a minute." He walked briskly to the back of the place, and my eyes followed him for a moment before I picked up a menu and idly read through it. I wasn't so groggy I couldn't play it nice and cool.

When he came back again, I smiled softly as he set my drink down in front of me. Before he could leave, I grabbed his hand, earning a few blinks and a narrow, suspicious, ready-with-mace-in-hand glare.

"Hey. You seem to be having a slow day. How bout I buy you a drink or something?"

At first he looked a little startled. I imagine he's not used to hearing that line from customers...Then again, he frowned at me. I could be wrong.

"That's not how it works. This isn't some night club, Red. Just who the hell do you take me for?"

"No seriously. Go get something from the back and just put it on my tab. Take a break, come sit down and talk with me. That's all I ask. I don't bite...unless you want me to, of course." I flashed a toothy grin at him, and he rolled his eyes. But I got a small smile out of that, and that was enough for me.

"Come on. Please?" I whined, batting a few lashes at him. He snorted.

"I guess it couldn't hurt too much..." He scanned the restaurant and saw the few people still in there either paying for their orders or starting to head towards the door anyway. "...Fine. But only for a little bit. And no creeping on me, you got that?" He pointed a harsh finger at me, jabbing my knuckle once or twice for good measure, but something about his eyes told me he would mind much less than he implied.

I just kept grinning. "Noted. Now, how about that coffee?"

He left again, a smile tugging at his lips just as he turned away, and I started celebrating. That's how they always started out, my dates. He was just playing hard to get. I could guarantee that within the hour, he'd be going home with me.


	6. Broken

A little blurb here that randomly came to mind.

* * *

><p>Without warning a horrible sound shook the night, smashing through the glass of the left kitchen window.<p>

Axel froze, right in the middle of his rant. He looked up from his plate, hearing the scream but not even remotely capable of registering why. It seemed like the world had slowed as he turned his head, eyes widening. His lover teetering unsteadily on his feet, clutching at his stomach as a red stain spread forth.

All of the sudden, that day at work didn't seem so terrible.

"Roxas!" The chair slid back forcefully, scrapping along the floor with a harsh creak. Caught just about to hit the floor, the blonde looked to be going into shock. His face was washed with an alarming amount of pain and confusion, and he spluttered as Axel pushed back his bangs, watching him frantically.

"A-Axel...What was...?"

"Shhhhh, don't talk right now! Oh Jesus!" There was a hole in his lover's abdomen, bleeding extensively onto the hardwood. Axel's eyes cast over to the telephone hanging on the wall, then back to Roxas. "Hold on, okay? J-Just hold on for me, Roxas!"

He gently set the smaller man down and was up in an instant, fingers coiling around the landline...

"Don't move, Axel."

Feeling a cold spike in his gut, the redhead dropped his hand from the phone. That voice...

"Turn around slowly. No sudden moves, or the next round goes through his skull."

Time seemed to come to a complete halt as Axel battled the fear, urgency, and dread inside him. His hands lowered to his sides, squeezed to them more like it, as he turned to face the lone gunman. Or in this case, gunwoman.

Roxas lay half off the ground, panting, clutching his stomach in a desperate attempt to staunch the bleeding. He whimpered as the grip on his hair tightened, the cold barrel of the pistol buried in his hair. A firm finger on the trigger guard, ready to inch itself over to the trigger at any moment.

"Please don't do this."

"Shut up," the woman said coldly. Roxas struggled weakly until she jerked his head up, and Axel saw fogging blue eyes spilling over with tears.

"Please, Larxene, I'm begging you. As a friend..."

She let out a shrill laugh before he could finish. It sounded almost hysterical, but in a moment, Axel was sure he'd imagined it. She was not shaking at all; no part of her seemed unsure.

"You know what they say, 'friend.' One ill turn deserves another. Maybe now you'll know what it's like to have your heart broken with no chance of fixing."

"I never meant for that to happen!" the redhead cried back, trying his best to keep from looking at his wounded lover. "I made a mistake, Larxene! And I apologized! Why do we have to keep suffering?"

She laughed harshly again, pressing the gun down a little harder. "'We're suffering?' Really, Axel? I'm sure it was soooo hard for you. It's not like _you _were going through a rough time, when the person you happened to be in-fucking-love with decides to dump you!"

Roxas's breathing was becoming more and more erratic. Axel pulled himself out of his guilt tripping and shot his ex the most pathetic look in his arsenal.

"Larxene, let's talk this over. Please. I want nothing more than to listen to you, but please. Let me call an ambulance."

"You really think I'd do that now?" she sneered, finger moving to the trigger. "This little twerp's life doesn't mean shit to me."

"And what about mine?" Axel demanded back, taking a step towards her. The woman frowned and gave the trigger a small squeeze, but Axel stopped, spreading his arms out wide. "Do whatever you want to me. Shoot me, if that'll make this better. But please let me save him. I'll do whatever you say if you just let me-"

"No!" For the first time, the redhead saw tears in her eyes. Larxene lifted the gun away from Roxas, thankfully, but aimed it at Axel, pointing accusingly. "Neither of you deserve that much! He led you away from me, but did you turn back once? No! Not even once for your friend, your fucking loyal _girlfriend_! You left me there alone to deal with all that shit! I hate you, Axel!"

"Larxene..."

The gun fired, a bullet grazed his left side, Roxas screamed, and instantly Axel ducked and lunged forward. Grabbing her before she could fire again, he wrestled her to the ground, wincing as he heard a shot smash through one of the lights on the kitchen ceiling.

"Calm down!" He fought with her until sirens began blaring loudly outside of the house. She punched his mouth and kicked him in the side before he could pin her; a low blow, but soon enough there were police pulling her off of him, as he wheezed and coughed on the floor. Everything was happening all at once after that. Paramedics were called onto the scene as someone pulled the redhead to his feet, a thousand men's voices ringing in his ears. The reorientation process was coming slowly; Axel could think straight enough to answer, but he did manage to mumble one coherent thought as he was led away.

"Take care of him, please..."

A million questions flew over his head, but his eyes drifted to Roxas, now unconscious, being lifted and carted off to the ambulance just outside. He sighed with relief, instantly clearing a bit. They'd be alright now. Everything was going to be al-

"You bastard!" Several people winced at the shrill tone of the gunwoman's voice. The redhead met her livid gaze sadly, amid the confusion. He had truly liked her, but never loved her.

"Larxene, I'm so sorry..."

"You fucking bastard! I'll kill you!"

The officer shook her, and Axel caught a few of her rights up until he couldn't see her anymore. He swore to give this a more serious evaluation later. For now, there was picking up what she'd broken, or maybe what he'd broken, and moving on. Just like before.


	7. By My Side

"I...I can't, Axel."

"Yes, you can." The redhead swallowed softly as tears began to drip from those eyes. He reached out and cupped the boy's face gently. "We've been through this a bunch of times now, Roxas. You can do it. I know you can. You're so strong..."

The blonde jerked his head from side to side, his pulse racing with panic. "I-I can't! I'll fall!" He gasped as warm arms enfolded around him, soothing hands rubbing over his back. "I'm scared, Axel."

The older boy paused a moment. He nuzzled his boyfriend's neck softly. "I'll be right here with you. I promised." He then slowly pulled back. "Don't you trust me?"

Roxas's face twisted with pain and guilt, and instantly the redhead regretted his question. This was hard enough as it was, but he had to coax the boy out of his fears, or he might never move on. Roxas could overcome anything; he'd seen it before. This...this would be just another bump in the road. Very unfortunate, but just a bump.

The blonde looked away, sniffling. "I do, Axel. I'm sorry." He wiped his eyes with an unsteady hand. "I just-"

"I know." Axel took both hands in his, and he guided the younger boy up off the bed. "Just trust me, Roxas. I promise I won't let you fall." He would never let anything happen to the boy who had filled his life with so much light.

Slowly, the redhead took a step back. Tugging at those hands lightly, he watched Roxas take a shaky step forward. They repeated these steps, one at a time, until Axel felt the handle on the door pressing into his back. He kept his focus strictly on Roxas, in particular those amazing blue eyes. Looking at the blonde as an average passerby, maybe no body could tell that he had-

Hands slipped out of his shakily, and Axel reached for one just before it could get away. He guided Roxas a little closer, moving his clammy hand to the redhead's own face. He felt fingertips carefully exploring his face, leading the thumb to trace over his lips last.

"I'm right here. You feel my smile, don't you?"

Roxas looked up hesitantly, but much to his boyfriend's relief, a small, helpless smile crossed his face.

"Y-Yeah..."

"Do you feel any better?"

The blonde blushed, ducking his head. "Maybe a little... Here, let me...let me try this real quick." He grabbed Axel's hand on his own more firmly, turned in slow, precise increments, and began walking back the way they'd come. He led Axel back to the bed, feeling for it with his other hand. It was a bit high for this particular bed, though, and Axel tugged him to a gentle stop before he could trip onto it. The metal frame might cause a few problems, he realized, but as long as they were here they'd just have to work with it.

Now that he was getting the hang of it, the blonde's confidence was slowly returning. He shot the redhead a short glare, and Axel couldn't help but chuckle. That was the Roxas he knew, the one whom he was utterly powerless to refuse.

He raised his hands placatingly, forgetting for a moment that it would make no difference. "Hey, I'm just looking out for you, Roxy. I promised, right?"

The younger boy's face melted into a small, but warm smile, as he turned and sat down on the mattress. "I know...and I appreciate it." He groaned as Axel came to sit beside him, shifting a bit. "This thing is terrible. You'd think the hospital would want their patients to be as comfortable as possible."

Axel chuckled. "Sure, but Saint Margarine's is one of the cheapest. If they were springing for good beds, they'd be completely broke, and we'd be short one hospital."

Roxas frowned, still pouting a bit, but the redhead knew he was just keeping himself distracted. "Besides, my insurance won't cover you, and you still need to apply. This is the best we've got for right now." It was a shame, but then, people here didn't look at same sex couples the same way that Atlantica or Halloween Town did. "Friends" weren't entitled to each other's insurance, and they weren't married, which left them s.o.l.

"I can't even see to fill out the forms now. I'll need help with everything..." The younger boy lowered his head, rubbing at one of his eyes absently. "I wish that accident never happened..."

Seeing that forlorn look coming back to his face, Axel knew he had to do something for his lover. Making a snap decision, he descended on the younger boy, pushing them both down onto the lumpy, white hospital mattress...

Roxas yelped as he landed, then was pulled flush into Axel for a melting kiss. The feeling of warm lips against his own was wonderful and familiar, but with it the boy fought the urge to cry again. He knew this was Axel holding him, Axel kissing him, but damn it, all he could see was black! The world before his eyes was dark and empty, and it made him feel scared and lonely...

So he focused on something else.

Since he had first woken up, Roxas slowly began to realize his other senses were growing stronger. Or at least more noticeable. The doctor said it would take a while for his other senses to keenly develop. The boy felt a warm hand touch his face, pulling him back to the kiss.

Axel was warm. His hands were pleasantly firm, but gentle. And his scent was wonderful. That smokey amber cologne Roxas had bought him for his last birthday. It suited the handsome redhead so well, and now, as he usually found it sexy, it was so comforting. That familiar scent, as the blonde's hand shakily found his neck and clung to it. He also felt the soft polyester-cotton that made up Axel's shirt, the soft touch gliding through his hair.

Pulling back for air, Roxas smiled, nestling himself against his boyfriend's chest, listening to the soft, steady beat of his heart. All of it reassured him, told him that despite his eyes, he was not alone. He could feel Axel, hear him, smell him beside him. A moment before...he could taste him too, Roxas realized happily.

But, he could count on it, right? Always?

Roxas looked up nervously, feeling the hand come to rest on his head.

"You'll stay with me...? Even if I-"

Axel cut him off, but Roxas couldn't bring himself to care. Kissing was one of those times you didn't need sight anyway.

"Roxas, I'd love you if you were a one-legged prostitute with crabs." The younger boy choked a laugh into the darkness.

"Really?"

"Okay, maybe not." Something hard and warmed pressed against his forehead. Axel's? "As long as your mine, I'm yours. Take out the prostitute bit."

The blonde shook his head. "So the crabs aren't a turn off then?"

Axel shifted slightly. Helping him to sit up again. "They might be...YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" The two laughed, and just like that Roxas felt that tension in his heart melting away. It wasn't over, oh no, not by a long shot...but, even with the hardships that would come, he didn't have to face them alone. He felt so blessed to have Axel...

The blonde felt a soft kiss on his cheek. "Blind or not, you're still my Roxy, and I swear I'll protect you. Just...keep smiling for me, okay?"

He nodded, answering with all his heart. He knew Axel was right. This was just a temporary set back; soon he would adapt, and life would keep on going.

'But it's all the easier, with him by my side...'


	8. Dancing Flames

In a far off land, a young prince sat upon his throne before a vast multitude of servants. Lords, ladies, gentry and nobility of every sort had gathered in the grand ballroom, meshing together in whirls of color and fabric as they danced across the floor. The room was alight with laughter and song, complimented by the softest oboe playing over a group of small but beautiful violins. It was wonderful.

The prince did not see any of it.

Idly he sat on his throne, his foot tapping away impatiently. Though this would earn him reproving looks from the King and his advisors, the young man paid them little mind, looking out over the room with a barely hidden leer of disdain.

'They should be here by now. What could be taking them so long?'

A serving girl approached from his right, offering a small, golden apple. He promptly took it, acknowledging her with a swift nod, but did not immediately bite. Instead, he ran his fingers over the smooth, albeit hard surface. As his taste dictated, it was beautiful; the perfect size. Hard, but not unyielding; smooth and free of any external bruise. Perhaps beneath the skin there were bruises, things unseen at which the prince could never guess. It intrigued him to think of such things, however trivial, and he regarded the apple with a more focused eye. The party would not consume one drop of his attention until-

"Presenting Princess Namine, White Lady of Wilkshore."

Instantly, green eyes drew up, widening. A broad smirk transformed his face as the doors opened at the far end of the room. In stepped a young woman, years younger than himself, dressed in the softest whites and blues. Her dress was different than all the ladies presently gathered; it held no eastern influence in its design. The skirt flowed out from her hips, appearing to make them very large and wide, and the whole gown was held up by a series of padded sleeves that ran down and flared out a bit at each wrist.

A whole party of men and women followed her into the room, causing quite a stir as everyone turned to look and admire. Though his father shot him a look, the prince was uncaring, already on his feet, shoulders straight and back, grinning widely as the lady disregarded her attendants, moving to the throne to greet him.

"Dear Axel, it is so wonderful to see you again," she said with a soft smile, extending a pale hand. Indeed, her gown almost perfectly matched her pale skin but for the blues, and the gold trim that lined the hems.

He accepted the hand, and kissed it, eyes warm and even a bit mischievous. "As always, a pleasure to see you, my lady. This night has been frightfully dull without you."

Namine chuckled, ignoring the indignant grunt from the king. "So rude, Axel. Was this whole evening not arranged for your twentieth birthday?"

A crimson eyebrow raised. "And if it is? Have you brought something for this occasion?"

She laughed again. "Yes, but you will know in good time." The room was slowly falling back into its rhythm, the musicians striking up the tempo once more as men and women sought out their dance partners. "Why don't you go and dance? I know how much you love it."

A snort. "No one here could satisfy me. Unless of course, you've brought _him _along with you..."

"My, you really are taken with him, aren't you?" The blonde looked at the golden apple sitting forgotten on Axel's thrown and smiled. "Yes, I knew you would be terribly cross with me if I did not. Rest assured, he will be here. He promises this showcase to be the main course for your glorious feast."

"So sure, is he?" Green eyes glimmered with delight. He laughed. "I shall expect nothing less."

The lady moved on to greet the king, as Axel resumed his seat. Holding the delicate fruit in his hand, he could not stifle the rush of anticipation inside him. He quickly bit into the skin, savoring the sweet juices and the soft crunch as the apple gave way to his teeth.

It did not disappoint.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As promised, before supper was to start, everyone cleared off the floor. Through the crowd came a few new musicians, and as Axel watched, he thought he recognized a pan flute and a harp of some kind. He wasn't as knowledgeable about instruments, but he remembered the sounds that he liked and tried to at least know their names. A tambourine player was summoned from the crowd as well, taking his place on the floor comfortably beside his fellow artists.

Lights were dimmed all around, save for a few candles scattered in a circular pattern in the center of the floor. The candles were close to a lump of cloth sitting idly on the ground, but not close enough to burn it.

Namine stood her chair then, clearing her throat once. Any murmurs in the court dimmed to silence immediately. She smiled.

"Thank you all for attending this grand ball in honor of Prince Axel's twentieth year celebration." Applause echoed from the surrounding walls, but the redhead paid no mind to it. He was far past impatient by this point. "For your pleasure, majesties, and your illustrious guests, I present the best dancer Wilkshore has to offer. Roxas iel Jagada."

In the next few seconds, a gust of wind blew through the hall, rumpling the bundle of cloth in the circle. A few ladies clutched at their caps, and others looked around a moment, confused. Whether by magic or some other force, the breeze then swirled around the candles, passing them gently so they would not flicker out. The cloth in the center began to billow upward in a spiral pattern, and as the wind settled again, a boy stood in its wake, holding the cloth in both hands. With a flowing sweep of his hand, he cast it aside, as the crowd began to applaud again.

Axel's eyes glowed with approval, raking over that body he recognized so well. As promised, his obsession stood before him now, winking at him with a delicate tilt of wheat-blonde hair.

Roxas was a slave in Namine's palace; the gold cuffs on his wrists and ankles marked his position clearly for all to see, but unlike other slaves, the boy was a piece that Namine valued greatly, and she lavished upon him. His skin was pale like ivory; a trait of noble royalty from her side of the world. Yet his hair an array of soft, flaxen spikes, styled like royalty of Axel's country. Indeed, the redhead once wondered if Roxas had once been a prince like himself, somewhere here in the east. A prince whose kingdom was conquered and enslaved by another.

In many ways it was a shame.

But there was nothing shameful in Roxas's posture. Neither his stance nor in his face showed any hint of anguish. Not even disdain. Instead, the boy narrowed his dazzling eyes and smirked, making a light bow before Axel and the king, as the music began to play.

Every other beat was accented by the tambourine, and a soft but somber melody rose into the air. As naturally as the flow of water, Roxas moved his body in time, hips swaying this way and that, bare feet sliding effortlessly across the ground. As he passed, each candle would flicker and move with him, and in the dim, it seemed as though he commanded them to dance with him. As he turned in a gracefully spin, Roxas made every little light in the gathering sway, almost to the point that they blew out.

It was neither happy nor sad, this dance, but it cast a spell over the room, drawing the eyes of every man and woman, lustful and not, to the form of this beautiful boy. The prince himself fought the urge to pounce, to run out into the circle of candles and sweep him off in a furious dance. But such a move would not fit this music, and it would force this already beautiful show to come to an end far too soon. Axel wouldn't dream of halting it, not for all the world. But his desire grew with every move and twist, every rumple of flowing silky fabric.

Blue eyes fell upon him, slightly hidden beneath thick, lowered lashes. Pink lips parted, as if singing along with the harp and flute, but Axel saw. He saw the corners turn up into another smirk, as those eyes beckoned him hazily, tantalizing.

Axel gripped the sides of his throne, clenching his fists against the armrests _hard_.

Roxas continued to glide through the dance, his blue and gold robes rippling in motion. As eyes trailed down that smooth torso, falling to thin, supple legs, Axel wished he could see the boy clad in the reds, blacks, and golds of his kingdom. The clothes would be tighter and more revealing, as his own were. Many of Namine's culture would no doubt squawk at the leniency eastern fashion allowed.

But the idea was still enthralling. Roxas, dressed in his colors, belonging to _him_ and _him_ alone. Then he could truly inspire passion, melt that delicate face with desire and _longing_...

The music drifted slowly into silence, and the blonde slid down to the floor on his knees, head bowed and listening. As much as he hypnotized the masses, the boy seemed to be slowly awaking from a trance of his own. This happened whenever Roxas danced, and Axel thrilled to see it each time. As if motion and music were more dear, more important to him than life itself.

No one moved or spoke, fearful that the spell was already breaking...

The prince stood quickly, clapping loudly in approval. And that golden head lifted to meet his gaze, more than a simple passion flickering through those eyes.

And everyone followed, clapping and cheering and smiling in approval. Namine stood and took a bow for her servant, thanking all for their time. The feast was to begin in mere moments, but two pairs of eyes never left each other. Even as the crowds rose and parted for the dining hall, they stood still, like statutes frozen in time.

"Join us in the hall, my son. This is a feast in your honor," the king remarked jovially, patting Axel on the arm. "Or must I escort Namine on my own, and sit at your place instead?"

Axel chuckled. "Go on, Father. I will be there soon. I'll apologize to Namine formally after the feast."

The older man shrugged, turning to speak with a few of his guests. Axel looked back to the center of the floor, but the boy was gone. Only the servants clearing away cloth and candle.

No matter. The prince mused that he had a very good idea of where to find him...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lips met in fierce war with one another, clashing with teeth and tongues as each man pulled closer to the other. Axel's heart thrilled every time they met like this. Always in secret, in his chambers, where no one would see. But the secrecy, the fear that any moment, they _would _be discovered, only set his blood burning hotter.

Roxas drew back with a gasp, smirking wildly. "I see I have yet more fire to tame this night."

The prince growled back, letting his hand caress lean muscles, gripping them possessively.

"Tame me if you can, little dancer. You'll find that I scorch much more easily than your silly candles. And my burns are far worse."

"Perhaps." Axel shuddered and roughly pulled him closer, burning with every sucking kiss that attacked his neck.

This needed to stop soon. The court could not be kept waiting long.

"Find me again after supper," Axel said firmly, stepping back with a groan of frustration. Why did this young man always have this effect on him?

His lover snarled at the delay, a sight that made the redhead almost laugh. But the front was back up before he could say a word, and the blonde was pressing close, that seductive smirk back in place. Roxas clutched his arms with a grip that seemed too strong for such a small, almost frail-looking boy.

"Don't eat your fill, _Axel_." His name rolled from that tongue in a rough purr, barely above a whisper. Followed by an almost tender nip at his ear. "Or taming you will be too easy."

"Oh?" Crimson brows raised, a perfect mask of unconvinced.

The blonde cocked his head proudly, turning to stroll out the door as naturally as he had come.

"Have no fear." The prince smirked wickedly, speaking low as his beauty, his_ obsession,_ disappeared from sight.

"Fire is never sated."


	9. Que Sera Sera

For once, not Axel-Roxas centric in POV. And a little long for a drabble, but here you go. :)

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><p>The room seemed unusually empty for an elementary school counselor. While the rest of the school was covered in doodles and colors, each hall decorated in theme by the grade level it housed, one wall of the room had a decoration; a simple picture of a beach with a little inspirational blurb under it. Another wall held college and grad school degrees, but they weren't festive decorations.<p>

The desk held one frame, in it the picture perfect family. A happy mother and father, two smiling little girls, and a yorkshire terrier, all in their Sunday best, minus, the dog of course...

"Ah, Ms. Reynolds, Ms. Anderson. Welcome." The woman behind the desk had long, dark brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She was dressed in a neat navy suit, hands poised on the desk, fiddling with a pair of reading glasses. "Please have a seat."

One of the women stepped forward, clutching the shoulder strap of her purse. "Is a joint conference really necessary, Mrs. Hale?"

"Yes, Ms. Anderson. It is." The counselor sat back in her chair with a sigh, before sliding open a low drawer of the file cabinet behind her. "The present issue concerns both of your sons."

"What have they been doing?" the other woman asked quickly, a nervous look overtaking her normally calm features. "Is it serious?"

The other mother looked at her squarely. They could have been twins had they been the same age; the only real difference between them was their hair color. Namine Anderson had the lightest blonde hair she had ever seen, and Kairi Reynolds was just about as redheaded as they come.

"I worry about the growing problem presented by their friendship."

Both women took a seat across from the counselor, only sparing the quickest of glances at one another. They had never spoken before, never met, but as they had discovered while waiting outside the office, their boys often bragged about them to each other. It was endearing, something neither woman had really expected from their rowdy boys.

Finding the right files, Mrs. Hale pulled them out and set them on the table. A spell of tension seemed to fall over them, not because of the size. The manila folders were really quite small, actually. But their mere existence was enough to set the two on edge.

"I'd like to ask a few questions first." The brunette woman turned to Kairi. "Mr. Reynolds, you moved here with your son very recently, did you not?"

She frowned at that. The school required so much paperwork on everything about the children that went there. Of course they would know about it.

"Yes," she said simply.

"Because you recently divorced from your husband. Is that correct?"

Kairi had to bite back a harsh reply. "Yes. We moved here about a month ago."

The woman nodded, seeming indifferent. "And have you noticed any change in your son since that time?"

"Yes. When we were living in New England, Axel was very quiet and shy. Sometimes he would act out because he was angry or upset, because he had seen his father do it and thought that was acceptable behavior. When we moved here, he was still set in those ways. But more recently, he's been opening up more about things. I see him smile much more often." Kairi smiled at that. The boy was only eight; she'd been so worried that he might have picked up her ex-husband's behavior, and worse, might make it permanent. But Axel was changing a lot, and it all seemed to stem from coming to this school, and making a new friend...

"I see." Mrs. Hale's attention turned to the other mother. "Ms. Anderson, you had originally intended Roxas to be home schooled, correct?"

The blonde looked down, a soft, somber smile on her face. "Yes. He's my little ray of sunshine. I worried that other children might be mean to him."

Kairi nodded to that. Other children could be very mean. She had had glasses as a little girl, and the other girls had teased her ruthlessly about it. She had been a bit worried that Axel might be teased for only having one parent, or maybe because he was shy. Or even because of his wild hair. It wasn't hard to find reasons to be mean these days, especially with what children were seeing on T.V. and other media...

"Why did you decided to send him to public school?"

Namine shrugged. "I didn't want him to miss out. Here I thought he could make more friends and join sports if he really wanted to. It turn's out he's a pretty good artist just like his mom. I hope public school can help him better develop that talent." She smiled proudly, and Kairi couldn't help but return it.

"I see."

The redhead couldn't help but groan. "Mrs. Hale, can we please get to why we are here?" As much as she _loved _being analyzed by the school shrink for everything she had ever done, it was getting a little tedious. The blonde, while more shy about it, seemed to be feeling the same, if the look on her face was any indication.

The counselor nodded. "I thought that the boys' home situations might shed some light on their recent behavior."

"And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?"

Flipping open both files, the woman pulled out two sheets of paper. "I'll read them together to save time. Your boys have been behaving strangely for the past few weeks."

"And why were we never informed of this?" Kairi asked, growing annoyed.

Mrs. Hale brushed back her bangs with a sigh. "The teachers have been doing they're best to redirect them. But even putting them in separate classes doesn't help for lunch and recess."

"What are they doing that is so bad, Mrs. Hale? Could we please stop beating around the bush about it and just get to the matter at hand?" Kairi nodded in agreement. Wasn't that what counselors were supposed to do?

The woman looked slightly offended, but it was clear that both mothers were past caring.

"Fine. To be blunt, your boys have been causing trouble both inside and outside of class. They disrupted lessons and don't play well with the other children."

"What?" both mothers asked at once.

"I will show you, since you seem unaware of it. Saddie, you can bring the boys in now." The secretary nodded, opening the door and ushering in two small boys. "Axel, Roxas, come here now please."

As they walked up to the desk, Kairi noticed that they were holding hands. That seemed odd for boys to do. She shot a quick look to Namine, who shrugged. Axel was smiling calmly, while Roxas looked a bit more nervous, as they stopped in front of the desk. The counselor smiled down at them widely.

"Hello, boys. I asked your parents to come in today to talk about some things, and I thought you might want to be here for it."

"Mrs. Hale," Axel said softly, "I don't know why everybody's so mad at us. Did we do something wrong?"

"Dear, you're behaving very oddly. That's why everyone is concerned. But no one is mad at you." She looked to Roxas, who seemed to be hiding behind Axel a little bit. "Sweetie, would you two go stand by your mothers now, so we can talk about it?"

"But I like standing here," Roxas said softly. "Why can't I stand here with Axel?"

"I would really appreciate it if you could go to your mother for just a few minutes. You'll be fine." She smiled wider as the boys reluctantly let go of each other, before trudging over to their mothers' separate chairs. Namine lifted Roxas up into her lap and hugged him, making him giggle a little.

"Axel," Mrs. Hale said kindly, "Would you tell me how you two play on the playground?"

The little boy looked thoughtful. "Well, Hayner taught us how to play four square, so we do that sometimes. I like to play tag."

"And do you play with Roxas most of the time?"

He smiled. "All of the time! Roxas always loses tag!"

"Hey!" the other boy shouted. "You have long legs! I can't help it Axel always makes me 'It!'"

"Boys." They both quieted down slowly. Kairi patted her son on the head, making him whine a little.

"Mom, you're messing up my hair!"

Mrs. Hale tapped a pencil on the desk. "They play together all the time, even when the other boys and girls go off to do other things."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "So what? They're friends. Isn't that natural?"

"It would be, but as you have seen, they like to hold hands frequently. They do not stop when the teachers ask them to."

"Well, it sounds like the teacher is disrupting class," Namine said simply. "It does seem a bit odd, but why does it matter that they like to hold hands?"

"Axel has been threatening all of the children who point it out. He pushed a girl the other day for making a comment."

"You what?" Kairi snapped, looking down at her son in shock. Was this a sign, that he thought it was okay to hit girls? Had her ex rubbed off on him after all?

"Larxene called me and Roxas mean names! She said we were freaks, and she made Roxas cry!" Axel pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't care if she is a girl. She's mean to everyone, and she hurt my friend."

Namine looked down at her son, surprised. "Is that true, Roxas?" He nodded, looking a bit embarrassed.

"In arts and crafts, she put paint in my hair. And she's always making Selfie and Olette sad."

"I thought you said you spilled paint by accident?"

Kairi looked back at the counselor. "You're right, Mrs. Hale. It's never right to push a girl. But it sounds like she's being a bully. Maybe she could use a counseling session."

The woman shook her head. "I have already asked the other students about Larxene's behavior, and no one else has said anything like this about her. I worry that these boys might not be getting enough attention..."

"Is that what this is about?" the redhead asked angrily. "You want to make up some problems for our boys, just so you can lecture us about how to raise them?"

"Ms. Reynolds, please. I understand your concerns-"

"No, you don't," Namine chimed in, looking pretty incensed herself. "Unless you can give me a legitimate reason to be concerned about my son's behavior in school, I would appreciate you letting me get back to work."

Mrs. Hale glared at them. "Please calm down. I didn't want to bring this up if I didn't have to, but if you do not find these other concerns justified..." She looked at both families. "Axel and Roxas were caught kissing."

Eyebrows shot up. "What?" The boys looked up at them curiously. It was almost comical, that the two women looked so similar and were now speaking in sync. "Did you really?"

"Yes," the counselor said simply, frowning. "A teacher saw them on the playground. He led me to believe they had done it before."

Axel shrugged. "Yeah, I did it."

Namine titled Roxas's face up, looking him in the eye. "You kissed him, Roxas?"

"Y-yeah."

"Why?"

Axel spoke first. "People do it all the time. Mommies and daddies kiss all the time."

"Yes, but those are mommies and daddies," Mrs. Hales said firmly. "Boys kiss girls, not each other."

The redheaded boy stuck out his tongue. "Girls are gross! And Larxene is mean! Why would I ever want to kiss her?"

Mrs. Hale looked stern. "Why would you want to kiss Roxas?"

"Well..." He shuffled his feet a bit. "I asked Mrs. Miller about kissing, and she said you kiss someone you really like. She said I'd understand later, but I understood it just fine. Roxas is nice and funny and cool. I like him a lot more than anyone else here."

"Thanks Axel!" Roxas was smiling brightly, but he looked more shy when everyone in the room looked at him. "Axel told me about kissing and I wanted to know what it was like. It's nice!"

"You see now why I'm concerned," Mrs. Hale said simply. "Boys should not be kissing each other, or holding hands. It's not right."

Namine, regaining her composure, set Roxas on the floor and stood. He ran back to Axel and hugged him.

"What is so wrong with it? These two boys are good friends and care about each other."

"Ms. Anderson, the boys clearly do not understand the implications of their actions. We must discourage this behavior, because other people will not find their intentions so innocent."

Kairi bit her lip. A lot was happening here. The counselor was implying that their sons were...well, gay. It was possible for children to recognize attractions at a young age, although of course they wouldn't know what to call it. If it was true, she knew the boys would face a lot of hardship down the road. They needed to be consciously aware of the decision they were making because of that.

"Mrs. Hale, with all due respect, I don't think now is the time for this conversation."

The brunette frowned at her. "Ms. Reynolds, this is quite possibly a very serious matter. We must discuss the appropriate steps-"

"No, it can wait," she said firmly, looking to the two boys who were watching her curiously. "If the behaviors persist, we can talk about it again later. Let them be, and see how they turn out."

Namine nodded, and together they left the office, ignoring the fuming woman behind them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Do you think it's the right thing to do?" Namine asked softly. She kicked some gravel out from under her feet on the park swing, watching as her son played a very one-sided game of tag with his now more-than friend.

"If that is how they choose to be, I will respect them and love them no matter what. There are enough people in this world who would be cruel and try to change them." The blonde nodded, and Kairi smiled as her son tackled Roxas.

"Got you!"

"Axel, honey, please be careful."

He rolled his eyes, helping the other boy up. "Alright, Mommy!"

They went back to swinging lightly back and forth. The rest of the work day was shot, neither felt like going back in for just an hour. So they each agreed to take a day, and just spend the rest of it together, with their boys. But it seemed the boys would rather play off on their own. The mother smiled as they watched them.

"Roxas seems like a sweet boy."

Namine nodded, smiling sadly. "He is. I worried he might not have a good male influence around, since his father passed. Maybe Axel can be that."

The redhead snorted. "Axel? Are you kidding? My boy is insane. We used to live by this creak, and one day he brought home a snake and wanted to keep it as a pet."

"Really?" she laughed. "I hate snakes. I would have freaked out."

"It didn't bother me, but no way was I letting that _thing_ in my house."

They chatted for a bit, and found out they had a lot in common. In an otherwise cold neighborhood, here was another they could have coffee with, maybe meet up on weekends. Set up play dates for their boys. It was nice to meet a good friend.

The other women sighed finally. "I'll love my baby no matter what, but I never even thought of this as a possibility."

Kairi shrugged. "Who knows if it is? It was just some early experimentation. Maybe they'll grow out of it in time." Watching them play, she kind of doubted it. But they were only little boys. She figured whatever would be, would be, and they would just have to wait and see.


	10. Like the Sun

Standing here today, I couldn't remember ever having been this proud before.

The day itself had started with a colossal mountain of stress; first, the caterer got stuck in traffic. Then, Demyx had gotten so nervous he threw up during the ceremony...all over the flower girl. Yeah, don't ask me how that happened. And the worst part was, _I _had to do the apologizing for him. I felt bad for the poor girl, but her mother was a total...jerk.

_Then, _one of the guests had an allergic reaction at dinner. He had to be rushed to the hospital right as Demyx, the unholy chunk-blower, was giving his speech. Which, of course, meant that he threw up. But this time it was on Zexion, and fortunately, that ain't my problem.

Oh...right. I was talking about pride and stuff. Yeah...

"Would the adorable couple please make their way to the center of the dance floor? It's time for the first dance!"

Now, after all that mess, I was standing next to the man I love, holding his hand, walking to the middle of the dance floor. The sea of people parted, all of them smiling at us, a few of them even cheering openly.

"Axel, do we really have to do this?"

I gave him a stern look. "Yes. We do." He sighed again.

"I've told you before. I can't dance. I hate trying. This is embarrassing and silly. Can't we just sit back down and-"

"No." At the risk of looking awkward, I took him by the shoulders. "Roxas, you know how much this means to me. Please. Just one, and then I'll never ask this of you again."

He groaned, and I secretly celebrated. I didn't often guilt him so harshly like this, but this was something I always wanted to do. It didn't have to be with a girl, although that was customary. There was nothing customary or normal about this day, but that didn't matter to me. I wanted to share this dance with the one I love. With the _man _I love.

He frowned at the floor. "Fine. One dance. But if you ask me one more time, so help me I'll rip off your nuts and use them as tennis balls."

"Awwww. Just admit it, Roxy. You loooooovvvveee me." He pouted, and I grinned wider. "Seriously though, thank you." Then I pressed a quick kiss to his forehead, drawing back in time to see him fighting off a blush. With ridiculous flourishing, I swept down into a low, formal bow, extending my palm out for his. "May I have this dance?"

The briefest hint of a smile touched his lips. In the next instant it was gone, but the blush remained.

"Whatever."

When I felt his hand reluctantly grasp mine, I motioned to the D.J. "You know the one."

The pink-haired man shrugged. "Sure, man." He quickly pressed the button, and the next thing I heard was a pattern of soft piano keys, one note following the other in slow succession.

The look on Roxas's face was instant and dreading. "Oh no. No, Axel. Please, not this song."

"Yep. This song. You can't back out now, Roxy. You promised."

For once, he tried looking pitiful. One of my known weaknesses.

"Please, Axel, it's so embarrassing. It's bad enough I have to be the girl, but why? Why are you doing this to me?"

I smiled softly, fighting the urge to cave to those beautiful, sad eyes. They were only a cover, after all.

"Because I love you."

I could see his face contorting again, the mask weakening. I could just hear him thinking '_God damn you!' _as I took his hand in one of mine, placing my other on his back.

"Come on. Let's just get it over with."

Despite his supposed lack of rhythmic talent, we began to move slowly, gracefully around the floor, Sora and Demyx and some of the others cheering as the vocals started.

_"I tried to hide from you _  
><em>but I failed <em>  
><em>I tried to lie to you <em>  
><em>but how I failed <em>  
><em>and even in my darkest time <em>  
><em>you gave me light <em>  
><em>I never knew this kinda love could feel so right." <em>

Roxas rolled his eyes, trying to distract from the deep blush on his cheeks.

"RyanDan, really? If you wanted anymore simpering, whiny love songs, you'd have gone with Enrique Iglesias."

I chuckled a little. There was nothing truly mean in his tone.

"Sure, but I like this song. It reminds me of us."

He gave me a flat look. "A whiny, simpering love song made you think of us?"

"Yes."

"How so?"

"Oh, I think you know, Roxy."

_"When I'm in your arms _  
><em>I find myself believe it <em>  
><em>we could be anywhere <em>  
><em>so I can keep on dreaming <em>

_Whenever your close to me, you're like the sun _  
><em>you feel like the sun <em>  
><em>and everyday you telling me <em>  
><em>I am the one <em>  
><em>I am the one who makes you shine." <em>

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" His nervous eyes darted around, seeing all the smiling faces. The difference was, when I did it, I didn't see the people being goofs, pretending to vomit, rolling their eyes but still smiling. They knew me, they knew Roxas had nothing to do with this one.

But I knew. Secretly, Roxas was a romantic at heart. He knew, and I knew, that he was loving this.

"Because. And besides, it's true." I winked at him. "You're my sun, Roxas."

He blushed darker. "Stop it, you idiot. I'm lighting up like a goddamn Christmas light."

"So?" Roxas bit his lip, looking for all the world like he was going to murder me. Or maybe be even more cruel, keep me from the best wedding night ever. But realistically, neither option seemed very likely.

I had always felt like the girl in the relationship. I liked some more sentimental things, and Roxas was more withdrawn and self-conscious. His family wasn't very supportive of his new life style, and I knew how much he wished they would be. He tried to be stoic, tough, manly, a lot of things to make up for the whole gay factor. But he couldn't do it forever.

My friends had joked that he should have been the one to ask me for the dance. I could have worn a wedding dress, gotten dolled up, the whole sha-bang. But regardless, I was a dude, Roxy was a dude, and there was only so much girliness our guests could handle. This was a nice compromise.

_"You're like the sun. _  
><em>You keep me warm." <em>

I was so proud to be here. For as crazy as this day was, I wouldn't imagine spending it with anyone else. As corny and silly as it was, he is my sun. The one who keeps me warm, brightens my day, and helps me grow to be the best man I can be.

We slowly came to a stop, and for a moment, the world was quiet. Not because it literally was, but because we were off in our own little world. Our own solar system, even.

"I am so going to murder you."

I smiled wide and kissed his cheek. "Go ahead and try."

* * *

><p>First real songfic ever. Sorta. Lyrics and things belong to RyanDan.<p> 


	11. Fail o' the Irish

It's way late for this, I know, but hey, you write the idea when it strikes you. Apologies to any Irish people anywhere. What do you expect of ignorant Americans like these guys? Cursing and drinking. Take it with a grain of salt, or don't read.

* * *

><p>"I'm sick of this!" Axel yelled, slamming his beer down on the table. Roxas hissed as it made a sound, but thankfully didn't shatter.<p>

"What the hell are you on about now?"

Zexion barely looked up from his book. "I believe he is referring to the now mundane tradition inspired by this lackluster holiday."

"Exactly!" Axel indicated Demyx, who looked positively bored as he downed another bit of Blue Moon. "I mean, this is all we do! This all anybody does! It's fucking St. Patrick's day, and instead of doing something interesting or new, we just get wasted!" He groaned and leaned his head against his arm. "If drinking is all you're supposed to do, I'd swear it was St. Patrick's day every day."

"Every weekend," the slate haired man corrected, pushing his own beer away with disgust. Still not looking up from his damn book.

"Whatever! Let's go look for a pub or something!"

"So we can drink more?" Roxas said, rolling his eyes. "Do you ever think before you speak?"

"No! I just mean let's do something different! Bring some culture up in here, y'know?"

"Well, to be fair," Zexion said simply, "I don't believe the Irish wear green on this day. Or much of any day. I believe I've read that it's bad luck."

For once Demyx spoke up, his words more slurred than anyone's. "It's a holiday for a martyr too...I think...something about snakes and shit..."

Axel smacked his head. "Okay, how about this? Let's do half and half. Culture and normal stuff. Sound good?"

The sober blonde put down a tip, before getting up to grab his coat. "So, you mean get plastered and then go golfing or some shit?" His voice was still laced with sarcasm.

"No." The redhead got up and threw an arm around him, drawing him close. "Let's throw a party, have some stuff to drink, wear green, but let's get some dancing going. Play Rumjacks or Flogging Molly or something like that."

"You really think people will go for that?"

Axel grinned, kissing his cheek. "Sure. It's our college buddies. They're all about this shit, you know?"

A day later, they threw a party. There was dancing and green and drinking, mostly drinking. Of course. There is only so much you can expect from college kids who were smothered at home. But it blew up a bit more than Axel had expected.

"Who invited the two midgets in costume?" he shouted over the music, indicating two short guys in leprechaun outfits trying to beat the crud out of each other.

"John and Derek? I think they took the fighting Irish thing too literally." Roxas shouted back, irritable. He was doing better than Zexion, who in his rage at the noise level of the house proceeded to down a keg's worth of Guinness. Demyx was following him around to make sure he didn't a) hurl on anything, b) hurl on anyone, or c) find Axel and tear him a new asshole.

Roxas, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm about the people tearing apart his apartment and stomping loudly. Axel pulled him close and kissed him deeply.

"Having fun so far?"

"Are you kidding? The police will be on our asses any minute." The faintest smile shown through, though, and Axel grinned widely.

"Come on. Let's have a good ol' Irish jig!" The blonde laughed a little.

"For such an enthusiast, you get a lot of shit wrong, Axel."

Dragging his boyfriend over to the speaker, the redhead turned up the sound so loud, the foundation of the place began to shake. He then adjusted the mood lights, making the green a bit dark, just as the next song began to blare over the speakers.

"I don't try hard, kid. The Irish thing is in my blood." He pointed to his wild mane of hair proudly. "It just comes to me."

A snort answered him, but he saw it more than heard it. "Sure."

Demyx emerged from the kitchenette, hands against his ears and yelling, "Who wants authentic cornbeef and hash!"

No one took him up on it.

That night was full of dancing, drinking, fighting, and all such generically thought Irish things. Was any of it really authentic or just the poor, misguided attempts of a few less than sober college juniors? No one really knows, because they never bothered to look shit up. But Axel was proud of it, even as he puked up the rest of his lungs in jail that night, a fuming, black-eyed Zexion with him.

Roxas and Demyx came to bail them out in the morning. Somehow, they were decently cheerful about the whole thing. Regardless of what anyone said, Roxas found that the night was fun. Totally worth it. Until he found the celtic knot tattooed on Axel's butt the next night.


	12. Le cadeau de l'amour

A little epi-epilogue for Le Beau et le Monstre. Just popped into my head randomly. If you didn't read my story, it's Beauty and the Beast with AkuRoku. Enjoy! :)

* * *

><p>Trailing over the spines, his finger found the right one, a dusty old blue book with silver lettering. This one had to be especially old; even more worth the read if he could manage to get it out. As he began to tug, the boy almost started at the feeling of arms around his waist, slowly drawing him into a warm, familiar embrace.<p>

"Guess who."

"Hmmmm...As if I even need to guess." Roxas smiled, turning to look into warm green eyes. "I thought you were busy with other affairs today."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps that was my excuse, so that I could find more time to spend with you." The taller man bent slightly, pressing closer and placing a soft kiss upon his lips. "Happy birthday."

"You remembered..."

"Of course. Have I ever forgotten it?" Axel swept his arm up dramatically, sighing. "How unfair! Can you honestly think so little of me, Roxas?"

The blonde pushed him playfully. "Stop being so dramatic. I only meant that you have been so busy lately."

He wouldn't really have minded at all. Affairs of the kingdom were more pressing, more important than attending to the king's consort. Though the life and title had sat oddly with him at first, Roxas accepted it now with ease and was perfectly happy to let his beloved do what he had to. These were perfect times for his old, introverted habits to resurface, where he could curl up in a corner and bury himself in a book for hours at a time.

Axel waved dismissively. "All a ruse, my dear Roxas. Come with me." Taking the boy's hand in his own, the redhead tugged him down the steps, around the way, and out of the massive library.

The blonde pouted. "I was just exploring the older shelves." He had been perfectly happy to do that for the rest of the day, undisturbed. Unfortunately, as he had somehow forgotten, Axel loved to pester him in the midst of a good story. How many times had he been pulled away from something, only for the man to...to do such embarrassing things. "I'm really not in the mood, Axel. Can we please do whatever this is later?"

"Absolutely not," the redhead admonished gently. "It's your birthday, and I intend to celebrate it properly."

"But your affairs-"

"They can wait. This is much more important."

Roxas huffed, but allowed himself to be lead silently. As he thought about what could possibly be so important, he began to notice how empty the castle seemed at the moment. Normally, Luxord would be directing the other servants, or yelling at Demyx for one reason or another. But everywhere they went, the halls were silent and empty. As if no one lived or worked here at all.

It reminded him of when the castle used to be enchanted, and Axel had been a terrible monster lurking within.

"Axel, where are you taking me?" He asked, if only to break the silence. This was the way to the dining hall; he could walk it blindfolded by now. But what was there?

Unless...

"No. No. Axel, please tell me you didn't try to bake a cake again." That had been a disastrous attempt last time, and the blonde had somehow been rendered ill for the greater part of the following week. Roxas did NOT want a repeat of that incident. It may very well kill him the next time.

"Relax, love." Axel offered him an honest smile. "I've learned my lesson. This is better, I promise."

They reached the large doors that obscured the massive dining hall. With beast-like strength, Axel threw the heavy doors open with one good shove, and Roxas gaped at the sight before him.

All of his friends were there, and not just the servants he had befriended before. Hayner was there, grinning widely as he and Demyx struggled to lift the massive cake high.

"Happy birthday, Roxas!"

Olette and Pence were there too, standing by Marluxia. They ran forward and threw their arms around him, startling a choked laugh from the astonished boy.

"It's so good to see you!"

"You guys!" Roxas managed to squirm out of their hold, catching his breath. "H-How?"

"It was a long journey, believe me!" Pence made a motion of hanging himself with a noose, and Olette slapped him hard. "What? It's true!"

"Well, you shouldn't be so crass!" The girl smiled at her old friend. "I heard everything from your father. Your so lucky to have someone like that who loves you."

The two of them smiled, then ran to help Hayner as he and Demyx began wobbling, struggling to support the massive cake as they moved it to the dining table.

"I can't believe it." Wide blue eyes turned to Axel. "You...did all this for me?"

"Of course. I'd do anything to make you happy." The redhead folded his arms around him, kissing his cheek. "And that's not even the best part."

Roxas blinked. "Axel, what did you do?"

"Look." He motioned with his head, and the boy turned back to see servants carting in trays full of books, piling them up into a mountain in the far corner of the room.

"W-What?"

Axel smiled. "I bought the stock of every book shop I could find before the border lands." When his love only gaped at him, he laughed. "I told you I had important affairs of state to attend to."

"Axel, this is NOT an affair of state! This is crazy!" He hadn't even gotten through half of all the books in the library. Probably not even one-fifth.

Warm green eyes met his calmly. "My love for you makes me crazy."

The boy couldn't believe it. His father, all his friends, everyone was here. And then this gift...it was just so much.

"Axel, I could never hope to repay you for all of this."

"Never pay me back for any of it, Roxas." Those eyes became serious, holding his gaze intently for a moment. "I do all of this because I love you, and I would never ask anything of you that you weren't willing or able to give."

"Axel..."

"Shh. No more of that. This is your night, Roxas. Enjoy it." The redhead slide a long, rectangular box into his hand, kissing him once more before approaching the others. As he began directing the servants to get everyone settled at the table, Roxas looked down at the box curiously. All of this was so much; all he could think about was how pitiful Axel's birthday would be compared to this. Roxas had no money, no grand things to offer. It made him feel so terrible, even as he felt the warmth of the man's love for him. He wanted to return everything Axel gave him in full. No, even more than that! He needed to show Axel the depth of _his _love!

Slowly undoing the ribbon and opening the box, Roxas saw a single red rose laying inside. It was vibrant and beautiful, almost glistening with a few drops of water still on the bud. On its stem hung a small note, and he read it softly to himself, smiling slowly.

_"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."_

With that, his worries slowly melted away. He closed the box slowly and tucked it away, smiling, as he joined his friends and family.

He should have known better by now. Gifts could not be given out of guilt or obligation. The best gifts could be simple, if only given out of love. Thus resigned, the boy sat beside his husband and enjoyed his party, feasting with friends new and old. All he needed was them, and the man he loved. Even if this party would only last one night, he was sure he'd be happy for the rest of his life.


	13. Falling

Axel sighed heavily, running a tense hand through his hair. "Look, Roxas, I'm sorry it had to go like this, but-"

"But nothing!" Roxas's voice almost broke as he cried. "You led me on, you bastard!"

"You're right. I shouldn't have kept seeing you." He shouldn't have invited the blonde over here now. The whole matter was stressing him out, and he wished it would just resolve itself and be on its way. But it wasn't that easy.

No, of course it wasn't. Roxas wouldn't let it die.

It made his heart clench in a way he couldn't express.

"You need to go home," Axel said firmly, giving the younger man a gentle push towards the open door. "I can't help the mistakes I've made, Roxas. The only thing I can do now is move on, and I think you should do the same."

"Bullshit! If it was nothing to you, you would have stopped seeing me altogether!" Instead of hitting, the blonde threw his arms around him and and pressed closer, desperate. "You don't lover her! I know you don't!"

"Yes, I do." He shook off the embrace and continued pushing Roxas toward the door. "I'm marrying Namine, Roxas. End of story. I'm sorry that isn't what you want, but I can't help how you or I feel."

"Axel, please!" The blonde was sobbing now, clinging for any part of him he could reach. Ignoring the twist in the pit of his stomach, Axel clenched his jaw.

It had all been so simple, not long ago. Simple, when the two of them were just friends. They hung out, played video games, watched movies...and occasionally screwed each other's brains out. Simple...

Axel genuinely liked Roxas. The guy was his partner in crime, dry and witty and just plain fun to be around. But ever since they became more than just friends, he had seen a change in the younger man. Roxas was suddenly jealous of anyone near his friend, and clung to him so tightly that it made Axel uncomfortable. He had thought that they had a general understanding of the situation.

But then the redhead started dating someone, and he saw his friend less and less. Not for Roxas's lack of trying, though; the blonde was still fighting for his attention. And now...well, Axel was engaged as of tonight. Engaged to a wonderful, funny, sweet girl who was just as dry and witty at times, but more relaxed and content to let things pass.

Roxas was the opposite. Moody, whiny, clingy, jealous, and inconsolable. More like a girl than he ought to be, really. It was embarrassing.

Ignoring the painful stab accompanying the thought, Axel shook his head and stood his ground. "You need to leave. Now."

"No! Axel, please don't do this! You don't have to marry her!" Teary blue eyes met his cold green. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry! I promise I'll be better! Just give me a chance!"

The redhead gave him another push, this time rough. "It's not about that! God dammit, just go home!" Why the hell couldn't he take a hint and go home? The door was just behind him, so close he could take two steps and be out of this situation forever.

But then...their friendship would be over, wouldn't it?

"A-Axel, I can change! Whatever it is, I can change it! Please!" the younger man pleaded, still rushing back to cling to him even as he was pushed away again and again. Roxas pressed his face into Axel's side, the shirt quickly growing damp. "I-I love you."

"Stop it! Let go, Roxas!"

But he kept begging, his voice soft and broken. Clinging to him still, so tight that it made his blood boil.

Everything happened so quickly then. Axel reacted without thought; he shoved with all his might, ripping the younger man away from him and forcing him back a couple feet. But that did the job a little too well. Eyes narrowing, he watched Roxas stumble back, surprise and hurt flashing across his face, as he tripped over the door frame. His foot made contact with the top step, but slipped a second later with a squeak of rubber, the young man flailing for something to grab a hold of.

Axel realized too late what was happening. He leapt forward with a cry, scrambling outside to grab him. But Roxas slipped away, tumbling backwards down the stairs until he crumpled at the bottom with a heavy thud, motionless.

The redhead hesitated a moment, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. But when Roxas remained still, an urgent voice in his head urged him to break through the spell.

What had he done?

"Roxas!"

Practically jumping down half the steps, the redhead reached the younger man. Lifting him up, he saw the man's arm twisted awkwardly under him. Even more alarming, a small stream of blood seeped from the back of his head, turning the adjacent concrete a light burgundy. Something had cracked.

"Oh God...Oh my God, Roxas, wake up! Answer me, damn it!" As Axel shook him, he almost felt himself hyperventilating. The blonde didn't stir at all; not even to voice pain. Roxas laid limply in his arms, the tears from before still visible on his bruised cheek.

Worried that he might really be hurt, Axel scooped him up, forgetting that his key was inside, and that his shoes were still up by the door. He took off down the street in socks, struggling as he fished through his pockets for his cell.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Eventually giving up on finding the phone with one hand, Axel just ran. Several people gave him strange looks, but one nice old lady phoned an ambulance for him. Soon enough, he was at the hospital waiting room, furiously texting back and forth with his fiance about their dinner plans.

This night was supposed to be so great, where Axel could feel so happy and so in love that he could fly.

"God damn it." He couldn't tell her why he'd been delayed. Somehow, he'd end up telling her about Roxas, and the brief affair they had had while she and Axel were dating. That would not go over well. Even Namine, the queen of patience, love, and understanding, would be devastated and angry.

And he wouldn't blame her. Not at all.

But...he couldn't just leave Roxas here. Even if the doctors thought he would be fine...

The guilt was eating him up. He broke the blonde's heart, then shoved him down the stairs. Axel couldn't believe what an awful person he was. Not even just an awful friend; he was a downright horrible human being. And here he was, contemplating leaving Roxas alone here while he went out to drink and celebrate.

Well damn...

He loved Namine. He wanted to go see her, but at the same time, he couldn't leave Roxas here all alone. He was in the wrong...but it was more than that.

Looking down at his phone, then back to the operating room, Axel felt torn. If he stayed, he would end up staying until Roxas woke up. That would be an awkward mess, he was sure, but... damn it, it just wouldn't feel right just leaving him here. He didn't deserve that, even if he was trying to force some life back into their dying relationship. Even if he was messing with Axel so much that it hurt.

Glancing down again, the redhead sighed, weary with the weight of everything on his shoulders. Neither Roxas or Namine deserved such a callous jerk for a lover. What did they see in him?


	14. War

Word of the king's decree spread over the land like wildfire. War had broken upon the small kingdom of Abel; soldiers invading from the north were slowly making their way to the capital, carving a path with fire and blood. Cain had given no warning, no reason at all for their actions. They would accept no conference, no ambassador, and no treaty.

Abel would have to meet this force, or fall to it.

As such, though it greatly pained the land and its people, men from every village north of the capital were called to fight. The army would join their ranks when it collected itself, but until such time, to protect the villages and the capital from the growing threat, knights, pages, farmers, butchers, all manner of men and boys had to take up arms to defend their homes.

One such man donned his cheap armor with a heavy heart, feeling it sink lower with every moment.

"You mustn't go!" his beloved begged, almost sobbing with despair. "The soldiers will kill you for sure!"

With a sigh, the man turned, his expression worn. He did not dare speak his own fears, nor show the depth of his pain.

"There is no other way. I am called to protect this land, and I must." For the king, the country, and most of all, for his love. Of all that he stood to lose, that was what he feared the most...

"Can you not even wait until I'm well enough to fight with you?" The other man came forward, touching his face gently, as if he might break it. "I will not see you go alone."

Sighing, Roxas looked into worried green eyes, clasping his hand over his lover's. "The men will reach our village in in a matter of days. You cannot possibly recover in that time, and I will not allow them close enough to harm you."

As a boy, he had long dreamed of becoming a knight. Though he was small, Roxas had a stout heart that burned for justice and love and virtue. He had never gotten very far, though; others didn't think much of him, being so small and boyish.

But Axel had never scoffed at him, only loved and cared and worried for him. It was he who encouraged him, practiced with him, and kept his dreams alive. Even if one dream should fade, he would always find another. The man he loved was always by his side.

Perhaps the redhead would be more suited to this task, being tall and strong and courageous. Perhaps they could have gone together and fought side by side. But a mishap with the cattle had left Axel nursing a broken wrist, in no suitable condition to fight. And unfortunately for the two of them, the threat of invasion would not wait.

"Roxas, please. I beg you."

The blonde leaned close to him, connecting lips for the briefest moment, then pressing their foreheads together comfortingly.

"Were this not so dire, I should not once part from your side, my love. But...I cannot stay." Even one man could tip the odds in their favor. Roxas knew he could not risk it.

Green eyes flashed with worry. It had been so long since either man had sharpened their skills. Their swords were not the only things that had begun to rust in all this time.

How would he match the threat?

Roxas could read the thoughts of his beloved as though they reflected in his gaze like the moon upon a mirror. Forcing his own aside, he kissed the other man once more.

"I must go."

Axel gave a curt nod, his face twisting in pain. They embraced one another tightly, whispering soft assurances and promises. Hopefully ones that could be kept.

The rest of the evening passed in silence, as they gathered what things the blonde would need, packing his saddle with enough food to last a week. The older man insisted on making all of the food himself, shot-handed as he was. And the weary, ragtag soldier stayed with him, watching silently.

Every moment left together, even simple and mundane, was precious.

The horse was bridled and led from the stable. With assistance from the pasture fence, Roxas hoisted himself up into the saddle, taking the reins in hand. Then he looked down at his beloved, for what he hoped would not be the last time.

"I will send word as soon as I can."

Axel nodded, slipping a hand up his back and pressing the other man down into his embrace. They shared one last kiss, and the horse was in motion, gaining speed slowly as its rider urged on. Hopeless green eyes watched him ride over the land before vanishing on the horizon, his dark silhouette merging with the night.

And lonely hearts ached in the darkness, longing to meet again if only in the next life...


	15. Bonds of Love pt 1

The sound of a key scraping the lock was heard, the heavy metal bar lifted from the door.

Instantly, Roxas's head shot up, eyes fearful. In the shadow of the dungeon, he could barely make out the faint outline of the jailor. Though something seemed odd about him; he was a great brute of a fellow that was always loud, threatening, and boisterous. The door swung open with a loud groan, and the man quietly stepped in, stopping a few feet from him. There was no shouting this time.

"Well, it's not really my style, but I suppose it will do. Out shopping for our dream home without me are you, Roxy?""

Blue eyes grew wide as he recognized the voice. Squinting in the low light, the blonde saw the silhouette of the man's hair, as wild and spiky as he remembered it.

"Axel..." Before he was even conscious of it, Roxas was on his feet, practically tripping over them as he fell into the other man's embrace. The redhead knelt and caught him before pulling him close, his face suddenly melting into great relief. Underneath, Roxas could see that he was a bit haggard, his eyes weighed down with worry.

The boy threw his arms around Axel's neck, struggling to speak as small sobs wracked his body. "Y-You came for me."

"Of course I did, silly," came the husky reply. The blonde felt the vibrations as he was crushed against the man's chest, being rocked gently. A finger found his chin and tipped it, and he met bright green eyes once more. "You didn't seriously think I would leave you down here?"

"I-I didn't know! I thought I w-would never see you again!" Axel hadn't seen where he'd gone after all.

His lips were quickly drawn into deep kiss, forcing away those ugly fears. Piercing green eyes met his gaze afterward, serious and comforting all at once. "I will always come for you."

Roxas shook his head. "W-What about Sora?"

"That treacherous snake will get his due soon enough," Axel growled. He quickly returned his attention to the blonde, eyes narrowing as they swept over his bedraggled appearance. "To think he would do something so terrible to his own family."

Roxas looked down sadly, wiping his tears away. Though they were born twins, he and Sora couldn't have been more different. His brother was outwardly bright and bubbly and good with people, while Roxas was rather withdrawn and quiet. Sora loved to dance and sing and explore, and Roxas just wanted to curl up with a good book. Sora preferred to be the center of attention, and Roxas was almost always more than happy to oblige. True, at times the blonde would get jealous of his brother, but for the most part he had come to accept it and move on with his life.

Until, of course, Axel came along.

He had never expected that jealousy could drive them so far apart.

When met with silence, the redhead sighed, slowly helping the younger man to his feet.

"I know you won't like it, but he cannot be forgiven for this, Roxas. This goes beyond pettiness. It is treason." The blonde looked down at his feet, feeling oddly saddened. Though he had guessed that this would be the case.

"I understand, Axel. It's just...difficult." It was difficult accepting that the brother you loved and lived with all your life had become a monster.

Axel sighed, drawing his face close then and kissing the tip of his nose.

"I know. You loved him dearly." Roxas stayed quiet, but accept the kisses, leaning in as warm lips found his once more. Despite all, he _still_ loved Sora.

Nodding to himself then, the redhead looked around the cell with disgust. "We can speak more about this later. For now, let's leave this awful place."

The blonde agreed quietly, but quickly found himself incapable of going far. He felt weak; imprisoned for so long without food, water, or sunlight. As he attempted to walk, Roxas quickly turned away from the dark thoughts of his brother. He thought about the sun; how much he longed to see it again, and to feel its soft rays on his face.

Sensing his plight, Axel bent down and quickly scooped the younger man into his arms. Roxas yelped as he lost all sense of the ground beneath him, blushing to find himself held like a bride in Axel's arms.

"This will be easier for you," the man said simply, turning and walking out of the cell with no hindrance at all. The blonde wove shaking arms around his neck for balance, leaning against him and feeling the wonderful warmth of his body. How he had missed his lover, or indeed the company of any kind human being. Sora had left him at the mercy of a violent, vengeful jailor, who the man feared would appear any moment now to discover them.

But Pete never did appear. The vast dungeons, empty though they had been since he was brought here, now felt even emptier somehow. Cold, dark, and silent as the grave as the two passed.

"Where is your company?" the blonde asked shyly, still looking around nervously as they walked. He felt Axel shifting him slightly.

"They are waiting just outside of the cavern," the man replied simply.

"You didn't think to take them with you into this place? What if there were traps?"

Axel scoffed. "Sora isn't that clever, despite what he may think. My spies informed me that he had only one man posted here. And not a particularly clever man either." Roxas felt him shrug slightly. "I decided to chance it."

Softening blue eyes gazed up, watching him. "Where is he now?"

"Knocked out. I persuaded him to give me your location, then kindly escorted him out. My guard should be taking good care of him right now." Roxas almost chuckled at the dripping sarcasm in the man's voice. Almost.

"It was still dangerous." The younger man pouted a little. "I'm grateful that you rescued me, but you really should be more careful. One of these days, your impulsive antics will stick you in deep water."

Axel rolled his eyes, but his smile did not dim.

"Yes, mother."

The blonde glared at him, earning a chuckle and a rough tousling of his hair.

"At ease, princess. I meant no harm."

Roxas bristled even further, ultimately turning away in a huff. "Some rescue this is. Teasing a man while he's down. That's low, Axel."

"Oh, come now. I was just having a bit of fun." The boy rolled his eyes as soft lips pressed quickly to his flaming cheek. Axel was just trying to distract him, he supposed, but the man was being a complete ass.

Still...

They continued in silence through the dungeon, leaving Roxas to his thoughts the rest of the way. He wondered where Sora was now. What had happened since that night?

The arrogant and handsome Prince Axel had materialized one day, standing proudly in their humble court. Both boys were taken with him, harboring secret longings. Roxas had at first sulked, thinking that Sora would steal his attention, as he always did. For once, it mattered. He didn't want to be ignored, when he asked for so little and had finally found someone he wanted...

But then, the unexpected happened.

_"Roxas?"_

_The blonde spun around quickly, hand clasping over his heart. He hadn't expected anyone to be there, let alone the object of his affection. _

_"Y-Yes!" Awkwardly, he made a bow, for once lowering his eyes to the ground. Princes were allowed to met gazes boldly, but for some reason, Roxas never could with this man. "H-How may I be of service, Prince Axel?"_

_The redhead chuckled, stepping closer. Almost uncomfortably close. _

_"Just Axel, if you please. All this 'Prince this' and 'Prince that' get a bit tedious, I must confess." Leaning down, the man left their faces only a few, meager inches apart. "I should hope that you do not need such formalities with me, Roxas."_

_The boy shuddered. His name from those lips was like the purr of a cat, especially with the way the 'R' rolled off his tongue._

_"I-If that is what you want." He lowered his eyes again, berating himself for being such a fool. "I thought you would be out with my brother."_

_The roll of those sparkling green eyes drew his attention. "Not for his lack of trying, I assure you. But the truth of the matter is, I would much rather be here with you." With a smile and a wink, the man looked up at the stars shining over the balcony. "Beautiful, are they not?"_

_Calming his erratically beating heart, the younger prince offered a strained smile. "Yes. Did you come out to observe them?"_

_"Among other things," the man replied, a sudden smirk crossing his lips. The look he gave Roxas made the boy feel strange. He couldn't describe it exactly, but mischievous...definitely mischievous. Hungry?...No, that couldn't possibly..._

_"So quiet this evening, Roxy." The blonde blushed at the new nickname, not sure whether he liked it or not. "You are always so withdrawn around me. Why is that?"_

_Biting his lip, Roxas looked up and then quickly away. _

_"I-I...I'm just always that way." It was true enough. That was how he always was, with or without company. Just a solitary person, content to sit in the shadows and not be bothered..._

_"But you don't have to be," came the quick, but calm reply. Roxas gasped as a finger drifted under his chin, tilting it up so he could stare straight into deep green eyes. They sparkled with a sudden intensity, a light he did not understand. "I see so much in you, yet you sit there and let it pass by. Why?"_

_Blinking, the boy didn't say a word. Couldn't. Where had this come from? And most importantly, why did the redhead care? Shouldn't he be off somewhere, doing grander things, not spending his time worrying over some silly boy he barely knew? _

_"Prince, I-"_

_A growl cut him off. "Axel, damn it. Call me Axel."_

_Suddenly, lips were upon him, and Roxas couldn't do anything but press into them, longing. He didn't understand any of it, but damn it if the tears didn't feel good. Or if those lips didn't feel so right against his._


	16. Don't Feed the Strays

Axel was just leaving the grocery store, toting at least five plastic bags on each arm. The heaviest load he'd carried in a while, but he needed stuff. It would be worth it to go home and crack open a nice can of soup.

He turned into alley beside the building. His apartment was just a little ways ahead.

"Mrow?"

"Gah!" The redhead spun around, almost dropping a couple bags. He quickly found the source of the noise, a little yellow ball of fur sitting by his foot.

"Oh...A cat?" Setting a few of his groceries down, Axel got on his knees and looked at it. "Well hey there, little guy. What are you doing out here all by yourself?" It looked young, too. Had it been weaned recently? Carefully, he reached out a hand and allowed the cat to sniff it, before petting its head.

The kitten meowed at him again, and he smiled, scratching gently behind its ears. "Scrawny little thing, aren't you?" It batted his hand gently, and he smiled. It was very friendly and playful, not like most strays he had seen around here. "Are you hungry?"

As if in reply, the kitten scampered closer and rubbed against his leg, purring softly. He chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes...Hmmm. It'd be a pain to go digging through my stuff right here." Not to mention he'd probably look silly if anyone passed by. Glancing back at the groceries thoughtfully, he wondered how he could make it work. He wanted to take the cat home with him, but he couldn't carry it and the bags at the same time.

The little fluffball blinked once or twice, then nuzzled him again.

"Hold on a second, kitty. Just trying to make this work." He started debating it, more to himself than to the cat. Was there room enough in the bag with tp and paper towels? It was soft and wouldn't squish him. Looking back at it, though, Axel quickly shot that idea down. The bag was practically overflowing. "How can I take you home with me?"

"Home? I can go home with you?"

Blinking, the man gaped down at the cat in shock. He didn't just hear that, right? The cat almost looked like it spoke. Cautiously, he nodded, waiting to see if he'd dreamt it up. He must have. Too much stress at work- Yeah! That was it!

Suddenly, the kitten jumped up and down.

"Yay! Home! I can go home!" Before his very eyes, Axel saw the kitten grow. As it got bigger and bigger, that feline face started to change drastically. It morphed until it became more human, boyish and round with wide, startlingly blue eyes. Paws shifted into hands, and patches of skin became visible, overtaking the fur and keeping it from growing everywhere. Soon, there was a teenage boy with cat ears and a tail hopping on all fours, beaming up at him excitedly. "Home!"

The redhead almost shrieked, falling back against the alley wall.

Instantly, the cat boy was stumbling to his feet. "Mister? Hey, mister, are you okay?" He ended up falling on top of Axel, shoving them both to the ground.

Rubbing the back of his head, the man gaped up at the boy sitting on him, eyes watching worriedly. His face burned when he saw that the boy was naked, but the boy didn't seem to mind at all. His ears twitched slightly as he leaned closer, a soft, yellow tail swishing behind him.

"Mister?"

"Woah, woah, woah! Back up a second!" Sitting up quickly, he gently pushed the boy off of him. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Huh?" Blue eyes blinked twice. "Do what?"

"That! You were a cat, and now you're not! How the- Why the- I can't!" Slapping a hand over his eyes, Axel hastily looked away. "And why are you naked?"

"Naked?" The teen looked down curiously, as if not sure entirely what he should be looking for. His head shot back up a second after, tilting just so as he asked, "What does 'naked' mean?"

"Look, here. Here, just take this and put it on, please!" Axel slipped out of his sweatshirt and tossed it at him, thankful when the boy finally managed to zip it up. The sweatshirt fell to his knees, making the kid look even smaller.

"It's messing up my tail," the boy mumbled, pouting slightly. The redhead shook his head.

"Well, okay! A walking, talking cat boy! Thanks, universe, you picked a hell of a time for me to snap!" Slapping a hand to his head, Axel sighed. He wasn't completely oblivious to the boy gaping at him unabashedly. "Look, too many questions right now. So hey, hallucination cat or whatever, can you help me carry these home now?" Axel swept a hand around, indicating the forgotten groceries.

"S-Sure, but my name is Roxas. Not hallucination cat or whatever." Roxas hesitated a moment. "Will there be food at home?"

Axel chuckled. Whatever this dream was, it was entertaining.

"Sure, Roxas. As much food as you want." He still wasn't sure how sane he was at the moment, but hey, sharing soup with a talking cat boy didn't seem like a huge order. At least for now, Axel thought he could believe it.

He smiled wider as blue eyes lit up, the blonde bouncing again.

"Great! I'm so hungry!" He scrambled over to grab a couple bags, pausing in the act. He looked back at Axel shyly. "I can stay with you? At home?"

The redhead blinked. "Like, forever you mean?"

Roxas nodded, shuffling his feet on the pavement. Axel guessed he was a young-looking nineteen, supposing he had human years in the first place. But he acted much younger, and could easily look it with that round face and those wide eyes.

But take this kid home forever? He didn't even know what he was, or where he came from!

"We'll talk, okay Roxy? For now, let's get home and get some food in us. Sound good?"

The blonde looked a bit relieved, beaming like sunshine all over again. In his haste to go, he began slinging bags wildly over his shoulders, as he tried to pick up as many as possible.

Axel rushed forward.

"Wait, Roxas! Be careful! You're going to crush the eggs!"

Surprisingly, the talk didn't last long.

The two went home and had some nice hot soup. They determined that the blonde was very special, able to shift between a boy and a cat whenever he wanted. Roxas didn't know if there was anyone else like him out there, and he wasn't very aware of most human things. Politics, physics, arts, sciences, and especially not shame.

Axel also found that he was a stray, and legitimately needed food and a place to stay.

Well, that was simple enough. Sort of...

So Roxas became his awesome magical cat from that day on, practically eating half of his refrigerator and stealing all his blankets and sweatshirts when he changed forms. Which he did, frequently, at random, and never when convenient of expected. Always awkward, but funny as hell.

Somehow, Axel was okay with this. Stranger things could happen, right?


	17. Halfbaked

"Sooo...when are you coming home?"

A soft sigh echoed from the other line. "Not until midnight probably...I'm sorry, Roxy. There's nothing-"

"It's fine, really. Do what you have to." The young man tried to sound chipper, but in reality he was suppressing his own disappointed sigh. He had driven a whole state down to visit his boyfriend for the weekend, only for said boyfriend to get stuck with the graveyard shift. They only had this day left to hang out together, and Roxas had been really looking forward to snuggling up with his redhead on the couch and watching a movie. Maybe make out a little.

"I'll stay up and wait for you."

"Don't push yourself. If you get tired, feel free to go to sleep. Just remember to keep the place locked. Help yourself to anything in the fridge, except the tuna salad...Oh, and don't leave the stove on again."

The blonde rolled his eyes, a small smile crossing his lips. He'd done it once before, not that it had done any harm.

"I won't. I'll keep my stupidity to a minimum while you're gone."

Axel gave another sigh, but Roxas could definitely hear his mood improving a little.

"You aren't stupid, Roxy. Just be careful."

"I will. Love you."

With that, the blonde hung up, turning away from the landline with a sigh. He looked around the kitchen a moment, thinking about what he might do. He had a few hours to kill, and nothing outstanding was coming to mind.

For a while, he settled himself on the couch and browsed Netflix, not particularly set on anything and usually getting bored and giving up about halfway through any movie. This was spaced between glances at the clock, and a few trips to the pantry for more chips. Finally, Roxas pushed away the remote and bag of chips with disgust. He was just eating to ease the boredom, and nothing good was on. Absolutely nothing.

Checking the pantry again, absently, Roxas came across a small bag of easy chocolate chip cookie mix near the back, and suddenly had an idea. That was perfect! He could pass the next half an hour baking, and then Axel could come home to his loving boyfriend and freshly baked, delicious cookies.

Grinning broadly, the man snagged the mix and set about gathering supplies in the kitchen.

"Okay...set the oven to 375...use non-stick tray...mix in medium-sized bowl...seems simple enough. Wait, does he even have any eggs?" A quick check of the fridge door confirmed it. A full carton, in fact. "Good. Check...butter...9-12 minutes if the tray is dark..." He mumbled out loud to himself, flipping on the iPod dock on the counter and pulling out the bowl.

Now, something to know about Roxas is that he is hopeless in the kitchen. And that isn't a joke; everyone could testify to this. His mother, father, brothers, former girlfriends, even Axel thought that Roxas and the kitchen should stay at least 50 feet away from each other at all times. A few of the smarter folks kept restraining orders for just such a thing; notes on the fridge whenever the young man came to visit, giving a list of things he was not to move or touch.

Did that deter him? No.

Despite his peers thinking he was a menace to culinary society, Roxas had always been fascinated with cooking and baking, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let others dictate that he couldn't do either thing. The blonde was of the mind that only with practice and patience could he improve, and this particular occasion provided a great opportunity.

He'd show Axel he could do it, and make him something good for all his hard work today.

The man smiled to himself. "It'll work this time. I can do it."

~o~

When Axel entered the small apartment, the first thing he noticed was the overwhelming smell of something burning.

"Roxas?"

When no one answered, he grew nervous, dropping his bag and kicking off his shoes by the door. The first place he headed was the kitchen, and upon turning the corner, the redhead was met with a pitiful sight.

Roxas sat hunched by the oven, looking ready to cry. A few scattered egg shells lay around him, and the tray on the counter held a few charred, black disks of what he assumed were cookies. The blonde had bits of dough in his hair, on his clothes, and a big bowl of the stuff lay overturned on the floor in front of him.

"What did you do?"

Roxas looked up quickly, panic overtaking his features. He stood up quickly and stepped forward, only to slip on the dough and smack right into his boyfriend's chest.

"Hey, what did I say about being careful?" the redhead chided.

"I know!" Teary blue eyes met his gaze. "I know, but I wanted to do something for you! I'm sorry!"

"Shhhhh. Calm down, Roxy." He hugged the younger man close and began brushing some of the gunk from his hair. "Hey...come on, kid. It's okay. I'm not mad at you." He probably had a right to be mad; the kitchen was a mess and he knew the blonde had caused it. But maybe it was the long night of work that had just worn him out so much. He almost felt brain dead. And there was something about the whole scene that was cute...and funny.

More gently this time, he asked, "What happened?"

Roxas chuckled awkwardly, rubbing a tear from his eye. "I wanted to make you some cookies for when you came home. I had everything I needed, but it all went wrong, as per usual." He sighed heavily. "I took the eggs out of the fridge, but then I dropped them. The carton opened and some of them flew out and splattered everywhere. I could only salvage one egg, but then when I tried to stir the egg and butter into the mix, I set the beater too high. I tried turning it off, but it kept running."

Axel picked up the device off the counter and examined it. "Roxas, the setting is right there. Turn it left to turn it all the way off."

"I know that now," the blonde replied sheepishly, almost pouting. "But then the mix turned really gooey like a cake mix. I tried to fix it, but I slipped on one of the eggs and knocked the bowl over." Roxas curled further inward, looking upset again. "Then I put what little dough I could get in the oven, but I waited and waited for it to form, and it didn't. So I left it alone and went to find your paper towels, but you were out. When I came back and tried to pull the tray out and got...those..." He pointed an accusing finger at the blackened remains stuck to the metal tray on the counter.

The redhead just starred at him a moment, then began to laugh.

His boyfriend perked up a bit, if only in distress.

"Hey! It's not funny!"

Axel shook his head, trembling. "It's hilarious! You have an easy-make box mix and directions, and you still manage to destroy my kitchen!" He hugged the younger man again, pathetically attempting to comfort his now pouty boyfriend. "Oh, come on, Roxy! It's really funny!"

"No it's not!" Roxas pulled away, frowning. "I tried to do something nice for you, but I can't. I'm stupid and useless and I never do anything right. And all you do is laugh at me."

The older man's expression became serious. He took hold of the blonde's shoulders and turned him so they were properly facing each other.

"Don't say things like that about yourself," he said simply, almost commandingly, "You aren't stupid or useless, not at all. You're a kind, caring, thoughtful boyfriend who makes me laugh and want you like crazy, all at the same time." Axel then leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"You're smart, funny, adorable, hot as hell too. You are more than I could have ever dreamed, Roxy."

The blonde looked away, a deep blush stretching from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

"You're just saying that."

Axel shook his head, kissing him again. "No. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Even when you try to destroy my house, I still can't imagine being without you." A soft, humored smile formed on his lips, and he reached out to carefully brush some doughy hair out of Roxas's face.

Roxas chuckled awkwardly again, but finally began to smile more openly.

"I'm sorry. I was being stupi-"

"No! Don't even finish that thought, Roxy!" The redhead pressed a hand over his mouth, cutting his words short. "I'm not putting up with that. It's late, and I'm tired and hungry as hell, so how about we go out for some late night Wendy's and call it even?"

Pulling back, the younger man blinked. "But what about the kitchen?"

"We'll clean it up after," Axel said, shrugging. He swiped a bit of dough off of Roxas's cheek, and then, as casually as he might have flipped through a newspaper, the redhead stuck it in his mouth. "Hmmmm...Actually not that bad. It's a shame they didn't get a chance to bake."

Roxas flushed a little darker. "Yeah..."

Axel was helping him up when he saw a bright red line across the man's right arm. Shocked, he grabbed Roxas's wrist and carefully examined the mark.

"How did you burn yourself over here?" The blonde winced as he almost touched it.

"When I took the tray out, I tried to hold it carefully. But then Demyx called when I wasn't paying attention, and I almost dropped the tray too."

Axel rolled his eyes. "You are the clumsiest man I've ever met." But damn it if it didn't make Roxas cute as hell.

With surprising ease, he scooped the startled blonde into his arms and kissed him again.

"Axel? What are you-?"

The redhead just smiled, hushing him as he turned and walked down the hall to the bathroom.

"Let's clean you up and fix up that burn. Then I'm up for a good old Wendy's burger and shake. That sound good to you?"

The blonde looked hesitant for a moment, then nodded. Axel knew he felt bad, like he was burdening the redhead. But he really wasn't. It was part of the younger man's endearing charm that he was clumsy and awkward. Roxas tried so hard, and he had a good heart, even if his plans rarely worked out. He never gave up, even when life put him down.

Axel loved him that way, and that's just how the cookie crumbles.


	18. Twas a Dark and Stormy Night

Roxas felt uneasy. He'd been feeling it ever since they left the house, when those dark storm clouds rolled in, obscuring the beautiful sunset beyond. Now it was almost midnight, and the rain wasn't letting up in the slightest. In fact, it seemed to be pouring down heavier and heavier every moment.

He jerked as the car swerved slightly, tires skidding on the water.

"Be careful," he muttered, more to himself than the driver.

"I know, okay? I'm doing my best, Roxas." Axel's voice was tired, irritable, and laced with anxiety. He had driven in this kind of weather before and hated it, but he had refused to let the younger man drive.

"Are you sure we shouldn't take the next exit and wait for it to pass?"

Axel's hands clenched on the wheel, his eyes focused on the car in front of them. "No, because it will take us even longer to get home."

"I'm sure your mom would understand if we-"

"No, Roxas. Now be quiet. I have to concentrate."

The blonde huffed and turned away slightly, pouting. This would never have happened if they had left earlier.

"Do you want me to drive?"

"No."

The Honda in front of them kicked up huge tracks of water, splattering the windshield even more. The wipers were pulling double time, and still neither man could see much of the road in front of them. The lines had completely disappeared, and every now and then Roxas could only really tell where they were going because he followed the two red lights just ahead.

Axel was probably doing the same. His knuckles were pale and clenching hard on the wheel, as if letting go even slightly would send them spinning out of control.

Biting back his worry, Roxas looked back to the road. What he could see of it, at least.

Suddenly the red lights became closer.

"Damn it!" Axel slammed on the brakes, skidding a little to avoid slamming into the back of the car. Unable to think, Roxas's hand clamped down tight on the cup holder, almost yanking it from the compartment.

The scene settled again as Axel reduced the speed to 50 and pulled back comfortably behind the Honda. Neither of them knew why it had stopped so suddenly, but hey, that was Destiny Highway. Cars often came to screeching halts for no God-given reason, and then would speed up again like nothing happened.

A very good reason why Roxas hated this road.

He wanted to look to his boyfriend and say, "Pull over. We're waiting out the storm," but he didn't. Axel's pride wouldn't allow him to stop. Whatever excuses he made about, "Mom's waiting for us at my house, so we need to hurry up," or, "that road goes through residential areas. It'll just slow us down even more," were total bull. The man was driving, and he was going to do this the way he wanted to.

Roxas could only keep silent, and hope that that pride didn't end up killing them both.

A blurry sign passed beside them, but the blonde could make out the exit number and street name. Key Street. Hopefully, they were close to pulling off this road and dealing with less traffic. There were a lot of cars around them now, all struggling to keep from crossing road lines and slamming into other cars on the road. _Must have been a busy beach weekend in Twilight Town_, he thought.

He reached forward and turned the dial back.

"Turn that back up. I like that song."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I thought you needed to concentrate."

"I do, but music doesn't bother me." The blonde turned back to the original volume, surprised that there was even a song playing at all. The static and rain were so heavy, he'd barely noticed. He just starting fidgeting when he was nervous.

"Sorry if I snapped at you before."

"It's okay. Just focus on driving safely." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw wild red hair shake back and forth.

"No, I was just tense and taking that out on you." Without looking away, Axel lifted a hand and clasped it on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "Forgive me?"

Despite himself, Roxas smiled. The rain was beginning to let up.

"Sure."


	19. Trust Me

"You better have a damn good reason for dragging me out of class like this."

"Like you even pay attention." The redhead sighed heavily, raking an unusually nervous hand through his hair. "Okay, so... I want to know if Roxas is cheating on me."

"You said that already. I just didn't want to believe it." Demyx shook his head sadly. "Don't tell me you're worried about those rumors Larxene has been spreading..."

Axel bit his lip. "Kind of?" His friend shot him a glare. "Okay, yes! It's totally stupid, I know, but he's been so distant lately. He was busy with art club, so we haven't hung out for weeks. He never calls or texts me anymore, and I'm worried about him."

Demyx rested a hand on his hip, shifting the weight of his backpack. As if to say, "Here we go again..."

"Have you considered talking to him? Catch him at lunch or something."

"No Dem, you don't get it. He NEVER wants to talk now. Every time I see him, he's spacing out or running off somewhere." The older boy shook his head. "I don't know what to do."

"Roxas can be stubborn sometimes, Axel. You know that." Patting his shoulder comfortingly, the blonde smiled. "You have to be stubborn too. That will get his attention."

"I just want to be sure he's not, you know...cheating?" Demyx frowned at him as he shifted nervously. "I mean, he hangs out with Namine all the time-"

"Namine? Really?" the blonde snorted. "Girl, please! They've been friends since elementary school, and you know Roxas is about as straight as a circle."

"But what if he's really bi, and just didn't tell me?" Axel replied, tone slightly panicky. "Or worse! What if he's found another guy?"

"Is it worse if it's a dude or a chick?" the other boy said quizzically.

"I...I don't know, okay?" He would hate the situation either way. "I'm just worried! And Larxene is hardly ever wrong!"

Demyx raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Since when? Besides, she's a tool. Why would you even think twice about what she says?"

"Look, Dem, just please do this for me. I need to be sure." He shot his friend a pleading look, clasping his hands together. He hated not trusting Roxas, but the boy had a bad habit of keeping to himself, and lately it had been even worse. Axel was almost sure his boyfriend would have told him if he were interested in someone else, but he couldn't help it. Maybe Roxas got sick of him stressing out all the time. He was prone to anxiety over little things, and he would be damned if that drove the boy he loved away.

The blonde looked back coldly before he sighed.

"Fine...But if he kills me, I'm haunting you til the day you die."

Axel smiled, more relieved than before. But he couldn't help the pang of worry in his gut. Slinging an arm over his friend's shoulders, he lead him off down the hall of old lockers.

After some time, they found their quarry, bent over as he shoved a few old books into his locker.

"There he is," the redhead whispered, earning a snarky looking from Demyx.

"I see him. What's the plan?"

Axel swallowed for a moment, then whispered in his ear. Demyx's eyes widened, and he almost exclaimed loudly before his friend was shutting his mouth forcefully again.

"Axel, are you insane? That's going too far!"

"Just do it, would you? You promised!" the redhead urged back. He would just end up stressing himself sick if he didn't get the answer.

"I thought you wanted me to...you know, stalk him or something! If he was cheating, which I doubt, he'd be with one person only," the blonde whispered back harshly.

"Will you quiet down?" Axel glanced back to make sure Roxas was still at his locker. He was fiddling around with a rusty screw that helped hold the thing together. "I can't wait that long! Just get over there!"

Without hesitation, he removed his arm and shoved his friend foreward, taking the moment of confusion to sprint to the corner to watch. From there, he saw the other boy shoot him an irritated look, before turning to only other person in the hall.

"Uh, Roxas?"

Said blonde looked up, eyes wide as if he were momentarily startled.

"Demyx. Hey, what's up?" Slamming the locker closed, he hoisted the still heavy-looking bag over his shoulder and smiled. "Sorry about that. Want to walk to class with me?"

The taller blonde stumbled a moment, and Axel frowned. '_Oh, so he has time to chat it up with friends but not me?' _He was consumed by a sudden wave of jealousy, and bit his thumb nail to stifle himself.

Roxas raised an eyebrow at the hesitation. "It's an easy question, Dem. Only two answers to choose from."

"Uhhhhh...sure. First, c-can I ask you a question?" The boy approached slowly, until he was right in front of the other blonde. Roxas blinked.

"Sure. What's up? You feeling okay?"

"Yeah..." Axel watched as he placed a hand on the lockers behind them, before quickly leaning in and sealing the smaller boy's lips with his own. He saw his boyfriend's eyes go wide, confusion and finally anger flickering in them. Finally, he saw those blue eyes drift over, then snap to him suddenly. Startled, he drew back slightly, hoping to look like he had stumbled upon the scene completely by accident.

In that moment, he felt an even greater dread than before.

_'He knows. He saw it...must have...'_

A heavy slapped echoed in the room, as Demyx staggered back and began to plead for his life.

"Oh God, Roxas I am sooo sorry! Please, please don't be mad at me! It wasn't my fault, I swear!"

As the blonde turned to look at him pleadingly, Axel caught sight of the huge red handprint on his cheek, so dark that it looked like a mild sunburn. But despite having slapped Demyx away, and still facing him down now, Roxas's eyes were still on _him_. Never wavering, and flooded with a sudden cold betrayal.

As the redhead stepped forward, opening his mouth to explain. "Roxas! Wait, I-"

His boyfriend shot him a glare, snapping his jaw shut with almost frightening speed. With another cold look at Demyx, the boy turned and walked away. No harsh words or punches came, just a silence as his footsteps faded into the distance...


	20. Bonds of Love pt 2

Still in flashback, even though it's not italicized. Next part will be back when things are happening

* * *

><p>From that day on, Roxas would excuse himself to the library. The blonde would seek out the gardens, the study, any number of quiet, secluded places, and Axel would be there within an hour.<p>

It was almost like a game; once he escaped Sora's hardened, watchful gaze, Roxas would wait, admiring each solitary spot in turn. He would read or water the flowers, shooing the servants off with an honest smile. He would go somewhere he loved, and hide. Not terribly well, as his object of affection would often tease, but that wasn't really the point. Roxas had always loved the silence, the rooms of the castle no one visited. They gave him a sense of peace and calm and control, something he felt himself lacking in the outside world.

At the same time, he couldn't deny the thrill, the spike of adrenaline as arms appeared from the empty silence and wrapped around him. The warm tingle as smirking lips grazed his ear.

"Found you."

Axel always found him without fail. No matter where he disappeared to, the other man would be there, as if walking a clear path that led right to him. Not that Roxas had any real desire to get away, but for once getting so much attention wasn't a bad thing. It was pleasant, and best of all, he actually wanted it. Looked forward to it.

Sora may have suspected, but he said nothing. The servants and court carried on as if nothing had changed, treating the boy with the same polite indifference as always.

But to the blonde, everything had changed. For once, he felt truly loved. Truly precious to someone else.

And it made him so very happy.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Prince Axel, the weather is marvelous! Won't you join me for a hunt this afternoon?"

Roxas kept his eyes firmly on the text in front of him. Axel would refuse. He always did.

"Regretfully, I must decline. I have plans to visit the haberdashery. I'm due for a new coat, and I dare not postpone it any longer."

Out of the corner of his eye, the blonde swore he saw his brother's eyes narrow. His gut clenched nervously as he forced his eyes back into the book. There were only so many times they could make excuses. Sooner or later, Sora was going to know...

"Very well. I'll have the servants brew the tea now, so we may have it before you go." Without another word, the brunet left the parlor.

Quickly, Roxas set the book down, just as the redheaded prince launched himself into his lap. The smaller man accepted the awkward embrace, feeling that familiar warmth in his chest as Axel rested his head on his stomach. He ran his hands through fiery hair, working out the tangles with a gentle pull.

"How I wish I could hold you like this in public."

The blonde snorted. "Considering this position, that would surely be scandalous."

"No, silly. I just want to hold you normally. When everyone can see it and know that you are mine." Axel pulled away to look up at him, his gaze warm but also narrow. Possessive. The other boy blushed deeply.

"Someday... I believe I should like that very much."

"But why not now?" Axel rose and turned so that he could sit on the cushions beside him. "Why must our love remain a secret?"

He sighed heavily. "I do not like it any more than you, but if Sora knew, he'd be furious with me."

"So?" Roxas bit his lip. "He will be angry with you either way, but the longer you hide, the worse it will be when you finally tell him."

He knew it was true, but he couldn't possibly tell his brother. It was just out of the question.

Donning a bright smile, he opted to change the subject. "So, what shall we do today?"

Axel raised an eyebrow at him, but thankfully didn't press the matter. He drew the smaller man forward, sighing.

"Restless, my love? We can't have that. What would you like to do?"

They tossed ideas back and forth for a while, quieting just as Sora returned. They sat at the parlor table and enjoyed a nice cup of tea together, and as usual, Roxas let his brother dominate the conversation. He smiled when he felt a light pressure on his ankle; it was Axel's secret way of holding him, reassuring him that they were fine. Sometimes it was easy to write off the whole affair as a dream; a wonderful, distant dream.

But the secret smiles and gentle touches reminded him how lucky he was. How loved.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Hello, brother."

Axel had been called home briefly. His father wanted him home for a portion of the summer, and of course he could not neglect his own country. There were matters that needed attending to, and as future king, he wanted all the experience he could get.

Roxas jumped slightly, clasping a hand over his heart as he turned around. He'd been lost in thought watering the flowers in the garden.

"Sora! Sakes alive, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

The brunet smiled casually. "Not my intention, I promise. I just wanted to see my favorite brother."

"I'm your only brother," the other replied dryly.

"All the more reason to see you. I've been so busy lately that I've had no free time at all." He tousled Roxas's hair gently, making the younger man pout. "I've had no time for my darling little brother."

The blonde frowned slightly. That was...a bit odd. Sora could be affectionate, but not very often. He didn't seem to care much that they didn't spend time together. In fact, the most time they spent together in recent months was probably when Axel was around.

Though on edge, Roxas said nothing. His brother was acting different, but not drastically so. Sora was probably just tense because of his duties. He took on more than Roxas did, so it seemed plausible.

Reassured, he turned and hugged the brunet. "I've missed you too." Roxas always missed him, ever since they had grown older and more distant. "Would you, uh, perhaps be interested in doing something today? Together?"

Sora nodded, smiling brightly. "Sounds wonderful. What should we do?"

They chatted as Roxas finished up tending the flowers. There were servants for that kind of thing, but the prince found it much more rewarding to take care of them some himself. Sora didn't question it. Instead, he joined him in watering, even picking away the leaves that were drying or dead.

The blonde was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't seen his brother this open in a long time. Moreover, Sora was interested in his life, helping him in the garden and even asking what he done recently. Had he read any good books in the library? Perhaps they could go to the bookshop and order more volumes for the shelves? Roxas didn't talk much still, but he gradually opened up himself, answering questions with a new liveliness.

With a small escort, they went into town and spent the day together. It was a pleasant afternoon, almost as nice as when Axel was around. Roxas still missed his presence, but it became somewhat more bearable when he had Sora there. It was like having a close friend again, like when he had played with Xion, Sora, Olette, Tidus, and Hayner as a boy. They had had a whole crop of friends, and scampered about, causing upsets at the castle.

When they returned home, the princes ate supper. Tired and satiated, Roxas left the table first, bidding a pleasant night to his brother as he went. Next time, he would have to pace himself with the wine a bit better. The blonde had a bad habit of drinking quickly when the conversation was dull. He should have asked for water.

He was walking down the corridor leading to his room when someone grabbed him.

"Huh?" Feeling fuzzy, he didn't struggle as his arms were pulled behind him. A firm hand grasped his shoulder, the grip hard enough to bruise. Roxas winced and shook his head to clear it, only for a hand to close over his mouth.

'_W-What's happening?' _Roxas tried to shout, but the hand muffled the sound almost to a whisper. He caught the briefest flash of narrowed blue, watching him as he began to jerk and fight in earnest. The blonde felt multiple hands now. Choking him, holding him almost completely still. He could barely breathe.

"Poor, misguided Roxas. Did you think you could steal_ anything of mine?"_


	21. Falling For You

You'll find part 1 in chapter 13, and (as of 4/8/13) a part 3 in chapter 66.

* * *

><p>Pausing mid text, Axel looked up as a nurse approached him.<p>

"Are you the one who brought in Roxas Strife?" The redhead nodded as he got to his feet, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "He's awake and in stable condition. Doctor Gainsborough says he can take visitors now."

"Is his head alright?"

"Fortunately, he only required a few stitches. It's a relatively standard procedure; he shouldn't sustain any real damage. His arm is more of a pressing concern, however. It should heal in time, but he needs to be very careful to keep it set."

The redhead sighed, feeling beyond relieved. Roxas was going to be fine.

"Would you like to see him now?"

Now _that _was a trick question.

Axel _did _want to see him, but he didn't at the same time. He felt like he _should_ see him, should even _want _to go to his friend and confirm that he was alright personally.

But he dreaded it too. He dreaded facing Roxas again.

He would need a definite answer to give the man. He needed to tell Roxas yes or no, one or the other, and to prepare himself to be firm, harsh like he had been before.

_'Before I pushed him down the stairs.'_

Axel was shaken now, slightly unsure. How could he hurt this man more than he already was?

"...Yes."

The other man nodded, motioning him to follow. As they walked, the nurse reminded him that Roxas was medicated and could be anywhere from emotional to confused to drowsy because of it, so take what he said with a grain of salt. Axel was only half listening.

They reached the room numbered 813, and the nurse paused, his hand lingering over the doorknob.

"Keep those things in mind when you see him, and try to remain calm if he does react. The doctor will be by soon, and there's a call button in the room, should you need it." The man opened the door a crack, poking his head in to speak to Roxas. "Mr. Strife, you have a visitor."

The blonde looked up as Axel entered, but quickly averted his gaze.

The nurse said that he'd leave them be, and very quickly he was gone. Then the room was quiet.

Axel scratched the back of his head, his feet shuffling awkwardly for a moment. They made a harsh squeak on the shiny tile floor, and he winced at the sound. Stopping the movement quickly, he stood still, almost rigid, looking down at the younger man with the best blank expression he could manage.

Roxas kept his head bowed slightly, eyes firmly on the hand nervously wringing the blanket over his lap.

Finally, the older man cleared his throat.

"Roxas..." When the blonde still didn't acknowledge him, he sighed. "Look, Roxas, I didn't mean for anything like this to happen. Any of it. I'm sorry."

The younger man blinked, his eyes beginning to shimmer with unshed tears. He did not look up.

"Please understand me, Roxas. I never meant to hurt you. You're my friend."

"Am I?" Axel paused, a bit shocked by the hoarseness of his voice. Maybe it was the drugs. Unaware that he had been looking away when he spoke, Axel turned, meeting sad, lonely blue eyes. Despite himself, the redhead noted how gorgeous they were, even now.

"Please don't be this way. Part of it is probably the meds, but I know you feel strongly about this anyway-"

"Do you?" the man accused softly, his gaze never wavering. Axel growled with frustration.

"Roxas, for God's sake, there is nothing I can do about it! I can't control who I have feelings for!" So much for remaining calm.

"So you never had feelings for me?"

Axel looked at the floor. He did have feelings, but how could he admit that? If his friend still had hope for their "relationship," he would cling to it. As much as he didn't want to hurt the man, he couldn't do that either. He chose Namine.

The blonde made a soft sound that Axel couldn't place. It sounded like a sob, but also... like a _laugh_ too...Or was it neither?

"You played me all this time..."

"I didn't know, Roxas!" he shouted back, startling the younger man. "I didn't know you felt so strongly! You know me! I'm dense as fuck! I assumed we were just friends goofing around!"

"I...I told you things...I confided in you, and gave myself to you!" Roxas shouted back, as hot tears spilled down his cheeks. "I gave you my heart, and you thought I was just 'goofing around'?"

"I didn't know! Jesus, Rox, close friends talk about shit all the time!"

"CLOSE FRIENDS DON'T FUCK, YOU ASSHOLE!"

"THEY DO IF THEY'RE FRIENDS 'WITH BENEFITS!'"

Roxas pitched forward and cried into his hand. Stunned for a moment, the redhead watched him, unable to speak or even move. He had known the younger man for years, practically since they were in grade school, but never before had he seen him look so young. Vulnerable. The blonde looked so beaten and heartbroken.

How could he have misread everything so badly? Was he going to lose his best friend?

Or was Roxas only manipulating him? He had to be thinking he was fighting a losing battle. Maybe...was this one last-ditch effort to undermine his friend's happy marriage?

Suddenly, a new person was hurrying into the room. It was Doctor Gainsborough, a young doctor with long, braided brown hair tied back with a pink ribbon. She took one look at the situation and sprang to motion, past the immobile Axel, moving to hold and comfort her hysterical patient. A mother of four, she was never one to stand on ceremony, even with patients.

"It's alright, sweetie. Calm down." Cradling the blonde's head gently against her shoulder, she leveled a harsh look at the visitor, an expression that such a kind woman theoretically shouldn't be capable of.

"Just what did you say to him?"

Taken aback, the redhead looked between the two people by the bed, shocked.

"Nothing! I-I wanted to make him understand! I didn't mean for any of this to happen!"

"Haven't you done enough to this poor boy?" She continued to soothe Roxas, even as he trembled so violently in her arms. "I am told you were the one who injured him. I admired that you would own up to it and stick around to make sure he was alright, but apparently I was wrong to think so highly. I can see now that you are a selfish individual who only acted to assuage yourself of your own guilt."

"That's unfair and untrue!" he urged, taking a step towards her angrily. "I tried to end things peacefully, but he wouldn't let it go! Maybe it is selfish of me to expect things to go back to how they were! I can accept that now! But I don't care how much it hurts; I'm not going to sacrifice my happiness so that he can pretend!"

Roxas went rigid; the quickly following silence so biting that Axel could feel it like it was real. It was almost palpable, the tension in the air, as that all too memorable face turned toward him, now twisted with sadness.

He hadn't meant that to come out that way.

Hollow eyes found his, and Axel shivered. He was alarmed by how lifeless they suddenly looked, so different than the sparkling blue that had so often captivated him.

Now, those eyes looked nothing like Namine's. And the tight feeling that had begun in his chest suddenly throbbed.

He was washed with dread, sorrow, longing, regret, and his own personal emptiness. He vaguely realized that his cellphone was vibrating. No doubt his fiance, wondering how much longer he would be.

He didn't move. His eyes were locked with Roxas's.

"A-Axel..."

The voice beckoned him, but his heart was clenched with an overwhelming need. To run. Run as far away as he could. Screw dinner. Screw anything. He just had to get out of here.

He couldn't face this.

Hastily he nodded to the doctor and began to zip up his coat. "I-I should go. I'm sure other visitors will be here soon. I shouldn't make them wait-"

"T-That's wrong!" Roxas suddenly cried, startling him as he'd been turning to the door. Axel looked back, eyes wide as his friend squirmed out of the doctor's arms. "If you walk out that door, Axel Flynn, i-it's over! All of it!"

"That'd probably be best," he replied softly, resuming his leave.

"N-No! Wait, please! I-If you leave, I'll have no one anymore! W-Where will I go?"

The redhead scoffed as he reached the door. "Home, to move on with your life, like you should."

Roxas shook his head and sobbed. "I have no home anymore!" Roxas sobbed into his hand again. "I have n-nowhere to g-go!"

Axel paused, turning back to look at him. Some of the life was back in those eyes, but that just pained him all the more. He had to go, now.

_'But...no. I can't just leave him.' _There was so much more to say, wasn't there?

Doctor Gainsborough looked away, as if she was terribly unnerved to be here at this moment. Knowing that she was intruding on something deeply personal, she stood and informed them she would be just outside. If there was any more hysterics, she would intervene again, and Axel would be made to leave. With that, the woman tucked her long, thick braided hair back over her shoulder and left the room.

Reluctantly, the redhead came over to the bed and sat down on the end, not looking but listening.

"Tell me." _'No, don't tell me. Please, please don't tell me.'_

Roxas swallowed nervously.

"E-Earlier, I, uh, t-told my parents about you. U-Us." Axel's eyes widened.

"Why?" He knew his friend's parents, but he'd never liked them much. Not much more than his own parents, really.

He had never figured out why Roxas had chosen to live with them after college. Axel had moved out the second he got the chance, though he kept in contact with his folks once in a while. He'd offered to help his friend, let him move in until he found a job and a place of his own, but Roxas said over and over again that he didn't want to trouble him. His parents didn't mince words about it inconveniencing them, though. They were born again Christians, and had always been very critical and manipulative.

"I told them that I was gay, because I just couldn't live like that anymore. Th-they freaked out. Mom was crying, and Dad started shouting." Roxas pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly with his good arm. He began to cry a little.

"H-He threw things at me. He went to my room and s-smashed my pictures. I t-tried to stop him, but he threw some of those at me too. He called me a f-faggot and..." The younger man paused, wiping his nose which had begun to sniffle loudly. Thankfully, he wasn't to the point where his sobs made all the words indistinguishable.

Hesitantly, Axel placed a comforting hand on his knee.

"They k-kicked me out and told me not to come back. I t-tried calling my uncle, but he wouldn't take me. I've been living with S-Sora and Kairi, but they're getting sick of me being around all the time." The redhead winced. Their friends Sora and Kairi had recently gotten married, and they were just starting out together on their own. They were nice, but he could imagine them wanting time alone together and that being awkward with Roxas there.

He patted the blonde's knee until he'd calmed a little. Finally, Roxas sighed.

"I got a hotel in the area, but I don't have much money left. My savings account was set up when I was a minor, and Dad is making it hard to access."

"Roxas, why didn't you tell me it was this bad? I could have helped you."

"You stopped answer my texts and calls, remember?" He winced again at the bitterness his the younger man's voice. "I didn't want to bother you at first, but then when I finally worked up the courage to tell you everything, I couldn't get a hold of you. Then you told me about your engagement, and I just couldn't. Not at first."

Axel was shocked. Not only had Roxas loved him for so long, and his feelings had been ignored, but then all this...

It was too cruel.

He looked up to see Roxas raising the short sleeve of the hospital gown, revealing a few dark bruises over the cast of his arm. The redhead gaped at them.

"Dad grabbed me," he said softly, before crossing his hand over his chest. "I have one or two smaller ones here from him throwing things at me. He missed a lot, but there was one book that got me." He laughed weakly. "Must have been grandmother's bibl-"

Roxas cut off with a gasp as Axel pulled him into his arms, crushing him in a tight hug. The blonde looked up at him, more than a little frightened, but he shook his head, clenching his eyes against the tears and just held him.

"God, Roxas...I'm so sorry," he said softly, starting to sob himself. "I'm so, so sorry." While he'd been off seeing someone else, he had ignored his friend's feelings and hurt him so terribly. Had he known all along, and just told himself it was just Roxas being clingy? Had he hidden from him because he was confused?

Or was he afraid he felt the same thing?

Both of their parents were homophobic, and the more he thought about it, the more Axel wondered if maybe he'd been fighting that label. He didn't want to give in to it, because once he did, everything would change.

It already had for Roxas.

He felt the smaller man slowly hug him back, softer sobs reaching his ears again. They were not his alone.

"I l-love you, Axel. I love you so much..." He pulled back slightly, and Roxas smiled shakily, sadly. "You knew...even when we were little, you cared about me. You were always so kind to me, and a caring friend who stood by me...at least until now..."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I love you, Roxas!" he urged, pulling the other back into his warm embrace. "I do...I guess I just wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to return your feelings, or to make things...public, you know?" Some of their friends would be supportive, but he was sure they would have lost some. And his family...

"Then why? Why are you getting married?"

"I...I don't know. But I won't. I-I won't, not anymore," he replied, soothing the blonde as he brushed the hair from his face. "I couldn't. Now I know that I denied those feelings outright. I didn't just want to hide them, I wanted to physically push them away. Even if the sex was good, I didn't want to admit that it...it could mean..."

Who was he kidding?

Roxas blushed deeply, raising his eyes beseechingly. They longed to trust his words...

"Y-You said it was good, but then you would be so cold. You never wanted to hold me after we-"

Axel cut him off with a deep kiss. Their tears mingled between them, Axel's moved by his selfishness and his new, overwhelming love for Roxas. How could he have been so blind?

He pressed deeper, trying to be gentle and loving even as he was consumed by passion. He wanted to shove away all of the fear he had caused, replace it with the love and care his friend- no, his _lover, _so deeply deserved. Axel caressed those chapped lips with his own, hoping he was doing it right. But Roxas responded with fervor, pressing back into the contact and tangling his fingers in dark, red locks.

_'Roxas...'_

They stayed that way for some time, swept up by the love. The openness and truth of their feelings. It felt nothing like Axel's kisses with Namine, the one had supposedly _loved_.

Roxas pulled back finally, gasping for breath. Axel was panting, somehow suddenly hovering over him on the bed. Careful not to move his arm, the taller man steadied himself and sat back slowly, scanning that sweet face. Not so like Namine's anymore.

No. So much more beautiful.

"I promise you, I won't be an insensitive ass any more." He firmly gazed into Roxas's eyes, hoping the other man could see how honest and serious and just fucking sorry he was.

"Please," the blonde whispered, reaching his good hand out to clasp their fingers together. "Please don't stay with me, and break another heart, just because you pity me."

Axel gave a soft, dry laugh. His lovers deserved so much better than the likes of him. So much better.

"I may be the worst douchebag on the face of the planet, but I won't do that."


	22. Thanks for Giving?

A 22nd chapter for the 22nd of November. Cool :) 11/22/12

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><p>It was shaping up to be a lonely day.<p>

Unlike the usual, where he would roam the streets, sitting by store fronts and fast food joints, Axel decided to stay in the alley today and try his luck there. New York was cold this late autumn morning, frost forming on the surfaces of cars, windows, and garbage cans.

At least in the alleys he had shelter from the wind. And thank christ, not a rain cloud in the sky today.

_'Still cold as fuck,' _he grumbled to himself, rubbing his toes frantically. The ground was like ice; he had almost gotten stuck once from sitting in the same place too long.

He paused every now and then to try and warm up, searching all through the trash for something he could eat. His toes didn't get any warmer, and neither did he, and worst of all, it seemed like no one was throwing out any food today. No one! Not a single street he passed was there any half-eaten sandwich, pasta salad, even half eaten corn on the cob! Even streets he could usually count on had nothing to offer!

_'Great. Just fan-fucking-tastic.'_

As he grouchily slammed the lid on another empty garbage can, Axel suddenly heard a noise. Looking around, he listened carefully for it to come again.

It did. This time louder.

"Get off! Hey!"

The redhead sprang towards the voice, quickly turning the corner and down into a more narrow alleyway. He saw a young man struggling against a larger, more muscular figure. The taller man had him by the arm and the throat; his arm was twisted back behind him while the mugger choked him in a headlock.

"Let go!" the blonde shouted, trying and failing to kick back into his attacker's crotch. He whimpered when his arm was jerked violently, and suddenly the two staggered to the side, their backs now facing the stunned redhead.

"Just give me your wallet, kid. Nice and easy and I'll let you go."

The "kid" struggled harder, slamming his head back into the mugger's face and catching him in the jaw. The man groaned in pain, but didn't loosen his hold. He glared and roughly jerked the arm again.

"You little brat! Don't think I won't use my knife on you, cuz I-"

"You mean this one?"

The man frozen, then slowly looked behind him. For all his disgusting stink and tattered clothes, Axel guessed he was mighty intimidating with that knife extended to the back of the mugger's neck. He gave the now shaking man a wide smirk.

"I don't mean to intrude, but it seems like there's some trouble here. Why don't you put the kid down?"

The mugger dropped the blonde instantly, sending him sprawling to the ground. He growled and righted himself quickly, brushing off his clothes as he stood.

"Good. Wasn't so hard, was it?" The thief shook his head dumbly. "Now how about you beat it before we get the cops on your ass? Hmmm?"

He didn't seem inclined to argue, unarmed and facing two capable guys. The mugger nodded quickly and ran down the way Axel had come, turning the corner and vanishing from sight. His footsteps soon faded into the distance, leaving the two behind to stare after him silently.

Axel turned to see the boy looking at him gratefully, if a little warily.

"Thank you. I never even saw that jerk until he pulled me in here. I would have been done for without you."

The redhead rested his hand on his cocked hip, looking the blonde over. He didn't seem hurt; just young and dumb.

"Can't argue with that, but that's your own fault, kid. You might have had an easier time if you'd just given him what he wanted."

"I'm not a kid! The name is Roxas!" the blonde replied irritably. "He would have stolen my money!"

"Money isn't worth your life, Roxas, and he could have easily killed you, then taken your cash. Where would you be then?"

Roxas looked down like he was slightly embarrassed. He didn't say anything more, but looked thoughtful.

Axel just shrugged. "All the same, glad I could help. I let you get back to whatever it was your were doing." With that, he started to walk off.

"Wait!" He turned back just as the blonde reached him, grabbing his left wrist. "I have to thank you somehow. Are you...ah." He paused, his face scrunching up suddenly. "God, you stink! What the hell have you been rolling in, rotten eggs?"

The taller man rolled his eyes. "Sorry I can't afford a home and a shower like most people. If you don't like it, I'll be out of your way."

"Wait, are you...are you homeless?" The look the kid fixed at him was priceless.

"Got me there, Roxy. If you're so bent on thanking me, how about a white hot? Or even a plain dog? Really, anything would do as long as its edible."

The blonde blinked, frowning slightly.

"So you don't have anybody out here?"

"Nobody but the rats and pigeons, usually. Why?"

Roxas nodded to himself, then pulled the taller man along by his wrist. He led him out of the alley and into the chilling wind as they worked their way up the street.

"Where are you taking me, kid?"

The blonde just pulled him along, muttering something about nicknames and obnoxious, gross redheads.

...

Roxas stood impatiently in the kitchen tapping his foot, occasionally reaching over to the bowl beside him and dipping his finger in. He loved the taste of his aunt's cranberry sauce. Ever since he was a little boy, he demanded nothing short of her best work. Even if he was a pest and didn't help much at all, she always gave it to him gladly.

"Roxas!" His hand was yanked from the bowl on the fifth dip, and he was met with a fierce scowl from his oldest cousin. "How many times have I told you, don't eat the whole damn thing before we even have dinner!"

"Selphie, it was just a little! I wasn't going to eat it all!"

"Sure you weren't." She shoved him roughly, until he was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Stay out of here until Dad says so. He and Mom need to finish the turkey and stuffing."

"Fine!" he shouted back, deciding to go find his guest.

No one really seemed bothered by the fact he brought a homeless guy home with him for Thanksgiving dinner. Roxas wondered if he should be worried about that, but ultimately decided against it. It was the season of giving, after all, and Axel did save him earlier. Despite his attitude and horrible smell, the family seemed to like him right away, and even the stubborn boy felt himself warming up to the jerk a little bit.

He stalked past the crowded living room, up the stairs and down the hall to the bathroom. Just as he approached the door, it swung openly slowly, making him stop.

The redhead stepped out, his hair still wild but more brilliantly red. He pulled some of it back into a pony tail, which, Roxas had to admit, looked very good on him. He wore a nice forrest green button-down, a little big on him because it was one of Uncle Zack's, coupled nicely with decently-fitting, clean blue jeans. His stubble was gone, and thankfully so was the stench. Roxas stood in awe of the man for a moment, until Axel noticed that he was there, and finished buttoning his shirt.

"Hey," the redhead said with a smooth smile.

Roxas blushed, coughing to clear his throat and distract from his embarrassment. "H-Hey. You really...clean up nice."

"Think so?" The taller man turned around, looking at himself in the long mirror over the sink. He smirked down at his reflection, which drew Roxas's gaze to his amazingly well-fitting jeans.

_'For a homeless guy, he has a nice ass.'_

Looking back, he noticed sparkling green eyes on him.

"See something you like, Roxy?"

The blonde stuttered,"Of course not! And don't call me that!...I just came to say that d-dinner's almost ready." Damn his voice for breaking.

Axel grinned, strolling casually past him.

"Thanks, Roxy. You're a doll."

Roxas watched him go all the way down the hall and the stairs, the boy staring as dumbly as his mugger had before. Then he shook his head, and quickly followed.

"Don't call me that, asshole!"

...

Thanksgiving dinner was decidedly a little different that year. Roxas brought home a surprisingly cute homeless guy, according to his aunts. Everyone was happy and thankful and well-fed, and then they ran off to watch some good-old Thanksgiving football. Cloud and Zack welcomed the man into the conversation as casually as they might have any of their brothers, and the aunts assured him he was welcome back for food or a visit anytime. Axel spent a good portion of the night chatting up with the cousins, grossing out the girls and drawing uproarious laughter from the boys.

Roxas was never jealous of his guest's constant attention. Not at all. Nor did he notice any distinct flirting from said guest. Not at all. And he most certainly did not agree to hang out with said guest on any frequent occasion, with family or otherwise.

Regardless, it was a more fun evening than anyone could remember, and two attendees in particular had never been more thankful.


	23. My Christmas Dependent

Happy Xmas 2012. Here's a weird little drabble-I-have-no-idea-where-it-came-from XD

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><p>Axel exhaled his frustrations, as he poked through the meat and poultry section at his local super market. There weren't many people out on a night like this, but then again, they had probably done their shopping more than a week ago. The weathermen had been warning that a windy, rainy thunderstorm would be coming close to the holiday.<p>

Christmas had been the last thing on the man's mind for the past few days. The force had just cracked a big case, one that stretched over a decade of kidnappings and gruesome, violent murders. Xigbar Braig, better known across five worlds as the Sharp Shooter, had slipped up after all this time. Luckily, the entirety of the TTPD had been there to catch him.

Finally the worlds could breathe easy again. Twilight Town had been hit the worst by Xigbar's crime spree, and Axel was sure the families of the victims would be glad to know that the monster would be behind bars, sure as all hell to get a life sentence if not the death sentence.

Personally, Axel hoped he got a life sentence. Better to stew in prison for 60 years or more, consumed by your actions and the judgment of you fellow inmates. No easy way out for the bastard, just a slow, sad, miserable life.

The easy part was over. Unfortunately, there had be complications.

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_"I just reported to the chief. The house has been secured, all windows and doors thoroughly inspected."_

_"Good. Check all the rooms and be careful about it." The man nodded and left, joining the other officers in searching the premises. Axel wasn't terribly worried, having studied the man's profile thoroughly. Xigbar worked alone, never took contracts or partners. Nor was he one for traps or other "extravagant" devices, but the men still had to proceed with caution. He could have rigged the house in some way, prior to his capture. _

_"Axel! Zexion!"_

_The redhead and his partner looked up from their work with frowns. The shorter of the two, a purple-haired fellow with deceptively cold eyes and bangs covering one side of his face, slapped the incoming man on the arm when he stopped to catch his breath._

_"How many times must I tell you, Officer Thompson? On duty, you are to address us both by our proper names or Sir."_

_Demyx nodded hastily, grabbing his arm as he looked from the other man to Axel. "You have to come upstairs! I found someone!"_

_Axel blinked. "What do you mean? Who?"_

_"It looks like a victim, Sir!"_

_They headed to the second floor, past the sitting rooms and the kitchen where officers scanned for evidence. The rooms were not very decorated, but the paint and carpets and tile were almost quaint and normal-looking. It could have been anyone's house, really._

_The master bedroom was a whole different ballpark. It was dirty and stank like dirty laundry, bile, barnyard animals, and blood. The walls and floors bore various stains, and Zexion looked away from the scene with disgust and nausea. _

_"This way." Demyx led them around a small corner across from the cheap bed, into a smaller, connected room, where there sat two doors, a large mirror covering one wall, and a long sink with a hanging mirror above it facing the mirror wall. The blonde officer went to the door on the left and opened it easily, revealing a __walk-in closet, lined on all sides by hanging clothes. Cowering on the floor, hiding between the dusty cloth, was a boy. _

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Axel loaded up on as much food as he could gather and drove home, not concerned by the pouring rain and blinding lightning just in the distance.

The boy they had found hidden away in Xigbar's closet was small and skinny as a reed. Before they took him to be examined, Axel had guessed he was 11 or 12 years old, when in reality he was 16. He was pale and gaunt with an ugly purple bruise marring the skin below his left eye. Not one of the officers could get him to speak, and the hospital confirmed that he was mute, but he did know how to read and write. After some struggle, he managed to scrawl out for them that his name: Roxas.

But Roxas what? Not even he had the answer. They scoured missing person ads across 6 different worlds and none of them fit the description. Xigbar refused to comment, and even Axel thought it was odd that he had kept the boy alive. The Sharp Shooter was not known for keeping victims longer than a week or so. And Roxas had clearly been with the man longer than a week.

After coaxing the skittish boy from the closet, he was hesitant to approach or be approached by anyone new. Roxas latched onto Axel first and panicked when the other officers tried to remove him. Demyx and Zexion helped, watching and staying with him when the redhead was busy, but as soon as he came back, the tiny blonde wrapped his arms around one of Axel's and gripped it like a vice.

Chief Lexaeus Mitchell was not happy. He suggested turning Roxas over to social services, and Axel could see why. He didn't need a dependent, especially not at this time of the year, and Roxas had no where to go otherwise. Someone could still be looking for him.

But Axel made the mistake of accompanying the blonde to the hospital with Demyx. To no great shock, it was made clear that Roxas had been emotionally, physically, and possibly even sexually abused, for almost as long as Xigbar had been in business, judging by the evidence. The boy was afraid of his own shadow, afraid of strangers, and even to some extent afraid of Axel and Demyx. But despite his nervousness, he clung to Axel tightly, who could see so much need, so much desire to trust in his deep blue eyes.

It broke his heart.

So even though it wasn't really in line with protocol, he filled out some paperwork and took Roxas home. He told Lexaeus this would be his week of vacation (it was almost Christmas anyways), and the man said nothing more about it. It wasn't until earlier today that Zexion called him up again with a lead on the boy's origins.

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_Roxas had dozed off in the car after a long trip to Goodwill. Axel didn't have much in the way of funds and he didn't expect to keep the kid long, but he figured he should take him out to get some better stuff for the time being. The redhead smiled at the boy, stopping at a red light just as he reached over and ruffled soft, blonde hair. _

_Suddenly, he felt his cellphone buzzing lightly in his pocket._

_Casually flipping on his earpiece, Axel pressed the button. "Officer Lea speaking."_

_"Officer Lea, this is Officer Philips. Just thought I'd update you regarding the issue of your dependent." Zexion. The redhead rolled his eyes at the formality._

_"If you know something I don't, let me hear it. Shoot."_

_A snort sounded from the other line._

_"Be cautious when telling someone to shoot, Axel. I just thought you'd like to know that my sources finally came up with something. There was a child matching Roxas's first name and description at an orphanage in Atlantica."_

_"No way." Axel kept focused as he changed lanes, but wow. Atlantica was about as far away as you could get from Twilight Town._

_"Indeed. After a brief correspondence with Little Melody Orphanage, I discovered that Roxas was legally adopted nine years ago by someone by the name of Xabiere Benítez. Apparently this was a single, Caucasian man; no wife, no pets, no other children."_

_Axel looked over to make sure his silent companion was still asleep. _

_"Did the guy have legal documents?"_

_"Yeah, but they were probably forged."_

_"You're thinking it was Xigbar?"_

_Zexion scoffed. "It's a perfectly viable situation. Atlantica is still a developing world; laws are not particularly tight, and even those that are can be circumvented with minimal to medium effort. Xigbar would have been just starting out at this point, so he could have easily snagged an easy victim."_

_Axel shook his head. _

_'But why leave the kid alive?'_

_They talked it over for a while more, agreeing in the end that they needed to be sure before taking action. As Axel hung up, he wondered to himself. If it was true, what would he do? Send Roxas back to the orphanage again? Send him somewhere else?_

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><em>

Axel kept thinking about it, even as he drove home now with groceries. If Roxas did go back to the orphanage, who was to say he'd be adopted? Who was to say the other children would be kind to him, particularly with his experiences and his current, developing understanding of socially acceptable behaviors?

On the other hand, he thought, pulling into the driveway just as a loud boom of thunder crashed overhead, he had no business raising this boy. He had little money, little resources, little time outside of work, and really, he just wasn't the caring, touchy-feely sort. Axel was awkward when it came to comforting people. He had no idea how to teach them or how to be a good role model. He was a police officer, sure, but that was mostly because he liked guns and explosives and he needed a productive, helpful way to vent his passions and frustrations. He wasn't much of a good guy.

Fumbling with a few grocery bags, he trekked up the slick path to the front door and clumsily worked the door open. Once inside, he noticed the lights were off and he could hear neither the t.v.'s nor the computer on upstairs.

'Power must be out.' He walked through the front area to the kitchen and dumped the bags on the table. He put away frozen and fridge things first, and left the Beef roast out to thaw in the sink before going to get the rest of the stuff from the car.

"Roxas?" He heard nothing but the echoing thunder and some pounding from upstairs. Axel figured he must be sleeping still, or maybe the storm was too loud to hear him over, and he shrugged, putting everything away in record time.

He walked into the connected living room with the large couch and t.v., where a nice big douglas fir sat decorated and strung up with lights. Roxas had helped him get it ready, though admittedly he'd been a little nervous at first. Axel wasn't sure the kid had had a genuine Christmas in a long time, maybe ever. He certainly wouldn't have remembered it if he'd been 5 or 6 years old at the time.

The redhead settled himself on the couch and sighed, getting comfortable. The more he thought about it, the more he came to enjoy the boy's company. He was shy and quiet and not always aware of appropriateness in things like personal space, but Axel found it never really bothered him. If it had been anyone else, it might have. Like with Demyx. Demyx Thompson was the huggiest sonovabitch he had ever known, and one time he'd almost had a fight with the guy because the other man pushed all the wrong buttons on the wrong day. He wondered how Zexion, Demyx's boyfriend, the intellectual and loner of the group, could put up with him sometimes.

For whatever reason, Roxas's childlike clinginess never bugged him much. In fact, he found it sweet. Endearing and cute, but never failing to remind him of the tragedy that was Roxas. The boy needed a family, not a guardian with nothing to offer but loneliness and disappointment.

Thus settled, the matter was pushed from Axel's mind. Instead, he thought about how to enjoy their last couple of days together, when he wasn't working or trying to find a suitable place to put the blonde. They could bake Christmas cookies, watch some mindless specials with Demyx and Zexion, maybe take a drive one night and look at the lights on every other house in the county. Some people really went all out this year; Axel had seen it on his nights patrolling-

Suddenly, another flash of lightning, a deep boom of thunder, and, less expected, a body slamming into his from behind. Axel yelped and groaned, straining his back and side as his face met the cushion.

His first instinct was to fight off his attacker. Punch hard, wrestle whoever it was to the ground and pin them until he could get cuffs on them. At this moment, however, he was glad he did none of those things. Struggling a little, he opened his eyes and looked up to see a familiar tuft of windswept, spiky blonde hair pressed against his chest.

Roxas was trembling again, _hard. _His skinny arms hugged Axel for all he was worth, even as he lay sprawled on his stomach across the older man's lap. After the moment of shock had passed, the redhead helped them both sit up and hugged Roxas back with firm pressure.

"Roxas? Where have you been all evening?" Tilting that delicate face up to meet his, he saw tears leaking from scrunched-shut blue eyes. "Why are you crying?"

The boy didn't have a chance to answer. A loud clap of thunder sounded nearby, causing the boy to flinch and press himself closer to Axel, as if he might bury himself so deep he would disappear.

The redhead took one look out the window, then at his silent companion. He chuckled.

"Scared of a little storm, Roxy? Shhhh, it's alright. There is nothing to be afraid of." He sat Roxas on the cushion beside his and began to explain the logistics of storms, telling the boy all the while to squeeze his hand and shut his eyes when he felt scared. It was a simple tactic, one of many the redhead had been trying to teach him over the past few days. Roxas was slow, but beginning to understand them more. And he seemed to have decided from early on that Axel wasn't going to hurt him like Xigbar had.

Axel wasn't sure how much of his technique really worked, but after a twenty minute rant that went from storms to global warming to the idiocy of Rush Limbaugh, the blonde didn't seem so scared anymore. He still shook a little and shut his eyes now and again but mostly he listened with a rapt, wondrous attention that flattered the older man more than he knew. Roxas even brightened a little, smiling or even quietly chuckling when Axel got way off topic.

Soon, the lights flickered back on slowly, and the storm moved off into the distance, barely a memory. Axel broke out the cookie dough and classic Christmas collections, and together, they spent the rest of the night having good, clean, innocent fun.

Well...maybe not perfectly innocent. Axel did steal his hand for a kiss when they ended up under the mistletoe. He might have started liking Roxas as more than just some kid, but even then, Roxas was still traumatized and skittish. This little kiss made him blush cutely, but he smiled too. It was warm and happy.

"You know, Roxy, this place might not be much...hell, I'm not much, but if you want to stay with me and we can work a few living arrangements out, you'd be more than welcome. How about it?"

That once pale, beaten face was radiant, nodded emphatically as he hugged Axel again. He stood up on his toes and kissed Axel's nose, making him yelp in surprise. Roxas just laughed in his cute, quiet little way, and Axel was beaming before he knew it.

Demyx joined them in an hour to eat all the excess dough, and Zexion wasn't far behind. It was a strange, stormy, unorthodox Christmas, but the little ragtag group seemed to enjoy it all the same.


	24. Santa Baby

The theme is "Santa Baby" and "Don't mess with Roxas" XD

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><p>The Castle had never seemed so noisy as it was that night. Axel grit his teeth so hard he could feel the pain all through his jaw. Controlling his temper was essential, because when it boiled too hot, things would start catching fire. It wasn't so much that he cared much if his fellow Nobodies burned into non-existence, but his delightful evening attire was not made to withstand the drastic change and would likely burn right off.<p>

Considering his situation for a moment, the redhead wondered if it would make any difference.

"Well, look at fire crotch tonight!"

"Going to be on the naughty list this year, Axel?"

Oh, this was low. He glared at his cat-callers, all but ready to set them on fire anyways. If he thought about it, he could come up with something even more gruesome. Only a long, slow, painful demise would do. Superior would likely throw a fit, but hey, no plan was perfect.

The hooting and hollering continued as he skulked down the hall to the dinning room, the awkward clack of his footsteps uncannily loud despite the rabble of the crowd. It was all the more cumbersome because of the painful, ridiculous heels suffocating his feet. How did such a loathsome thing find a place in this world? What horrible crime had humanity committed to blight itself with this useless, potentially harmful tool of fashion?

Worst of all, the tops were strung with little bells that jingled as he walked. Everywhere he went, there followed a soft, obnoxious jingle, jingle, jingle...

Short red skirt, short red midriff shirt with no sleeves and white fir trim, bells and ribbons and bangles and other horrible things. He looked like one of Santa's three whoes, all the worse because he was a man and still looked it by all accounts. Larxene had snagged a camera from somewhere and cackled evilly as she took pictures.

"Looks like the brat got you good, Axel!"

Demyx had doubled over laughing. Zexion barely looked up from the novel perched upon his knees, but the slightest raise of an eyebrow and the fleeting twitch of a smirk told him everything he needed to know. As he passed, a strangely cheerful Vexen sneered, "Happy Holidays, Number Eight. May you find it half as amusing as I."

Axel snapped his fingers, singeing more than a few hairs off the older Nobody's head.

There would be blood this time. He had never been a saint, especially not when it came time for punishment, but this was pure, unadulterated evil. That devious little blonde got so pissed after last night that he had swiped all of Axel's clothes and hidden them, leaving only this...monstrosity. How or where Roxas had gotten it, he had no idea. He probably didn't want to know. Despite his height and the age he looked, the other Nobody was disturbingly crafty.

Axel would have to find an equally mortifying, soul-crushing torment to inflict on his partner in return. Boyfriend or no, there were lines to be drawn. Roxas needed to be reminded who wore the pants in this relationship.

Now if only he had some pants to wear.

And oh joy, now Marluxia had seen him. The flowery bastard joined the rest in following Axel, snickering and even groping when they thought they could get away with it.

"Wherever did you get that bow, Axel? It suits your figure."

"Shut it." His voice never rose above a faint growl, until he spotted a small, familiar figure leaning against the doorway into the dining hall.

Said Nobody smirked widely, eyes raking over him with a malicious glint. "You look lovely this Christmas, Axel. Wasn't there a hat that went with this little ensemble?"

"Not anymore." Acidic green eyes bore into those cocky blue ones, blatantly murderous. He stumbled a bit in those ridiculous boots, cursing as he almost sprawled out on full display for the others. Roxas laughed, reaching out to tug on the little red ribbon that had fallen out of place on Axel's skirt.

"Careful. Wouldn't want a delicate little lady to take a nasty fall, would we?" Eyeing the knee-length skirt again, the blonde chuckled. "Looks like I've been good this year."

Demyx, who had brandished his sitar from god knew where, began a perky rendition of 'Santa Baby,' resulting in uproarious laughter from all but the redhead. Xaldin almost choked on his Guinness.

"You. Are. Going. To. PAY."

Roxas shot him an incredulous look, then smirked evilly.

"Maybe. But the next time you want me to wear a dress for some creepy little fetish of yours, just remember: I have so much worse in store for you. And it won't just be our business anymore." With that, he casually walked past Axel, past the now quiet crowd that was still snickering behind broad hands. He turned just before disappearing down the hall, making Axel wince with the blinding flash of his camera.

"Merry Christmas, Axel."


	25. Sometimes

"But I feel bad! Can I please take it back and try again?"

"No, Axel! It's not about the gift, okay? I like it because you got it for me."

"Are you sure? I know you really wanted the-"

"It's fine." Exasperated, Roxas pulled his boyfriend in for a deep kiss, effectively shutting him up for the moment. Axel melted quickly, kissing him back and holding him so tight that he chuckled. The redhead was adorable despite himself.

When he pulled back Axel started to argue again, but the younger boy wouldn't hear it.

"I'm keeping it and that's final. Now, do you like your present?"

"I love it, Roxy! It's just what I wanted! It's just... I wish I was half as good at finding stuff as you." The younger boy sighed. Sometimes it was frustrating, but he couldn't fault Axel for being who he was.

"I love you, and anything you give I will love, as long as you give it from your heart." Although he'd be hard-pressed to find a use for that three inch tall figurine of Len Kagamine. Anime stuff was more of Axel's thing, but he could kind of see how it remind the older boy of him. The character was a short blonde with blue eyes.

Axel was a thoughtless shopper. That wasn't to say he went cheap on gifts or forgot birthdays or anniversaries frequently, but he rarely found the right gift for anybody. It was almost baffling. After all, if he knew his friends and family so well, then how did he always buy them things they didn't like?

The redhead would argue that people were just too hard to shop for, but that couldn't be true. Axel's sister, Kairi, dropped hints about as subtle as a rocket launcher to the face, and his mother and father gave him a list every holiday, saying exactly what to buy, where it was, and how much it cost.

Roxas, by contrast, was a people pleaser. He stressed over getting just the right gift, something that would either pleasantly surprise or be just what they were looking for. He liked to go above and beyond, as much for his own enjoyment as other peoples'. He loved watching those bright smiles and wide eyes, seeing how the right gift could make his loved ones so happy.

By the curse of people pleasing, however, he felt sad when he thought the gift had failed. Worse, he felt miffed sometimes when others didn't put the same effort in for him.

There entered Axel, his adorable, hapless, clueless boyfriend. Even with the help of his friends and Roxas's twin sister, he still didn't know what to get the blonde. And while Roxas tried not to take it personally, he couldn't help but wonder if Axel knew him as well as he thought.

The redhead took his hand and kissed it, still looking faintly guilty.

"How about I make us some hot chocolate? Then I'll clean up the wrapping paper and stuff and we can cuddle to a movie or something."

Roxas smiled, snuggling into his chest. Sometimes...

"Sounds great. Can I pick the movie?"

"Of course, babe. And you like skim milk, right? Thirteen marshmallows in your chocolate?"

The blonde pecked his lips softly. "Please."

Sometimes he knew just the right thing to say.


	26. The Other Team

This little drabble just came totally out of left field. I love bad puns XD

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><p>"Pitcher or catcher?"<p>

With any other ice breaker, Roxas would have simply rolled his eyes and turned away. He did not expect company tonight. He didn't _want _any company, in fact. He was at a bar, sure, but his clothing was simple, uninteresting; his posture was clear, unwelcoming, curled, hunched shoulders leaning over the counter just about his unremarkable Sam Adams.

He almost hadn't heard the comment over the music. This statement, however, came out of the blue, right as the young man had lifted the chilled beer bottle to his lips.

He sputtered and coughed, turning quickly to his sudden guest with wide eyes.

"Excuse me?"

The guy in question- for yes, this person was undoubtably male- was a lean guy with tattooed sleeves running up and down his surprisingly considerable biceps. He had two black teardrops tattooed under his startlingly green eyes, and hair so vibrant red it could probably have doubled as a traffic light. The man lounged against the bar beside him, dressed in dark blue low-cut jeans, a black wife beater, and a decidedly smug smile on his...surprisingly attractive face.

"A little slow, Blondie? I said, 'Pitcher or catcher?'" His gaze traced the smaller man up and down for a moment, as Roxas fought to keep a blush from forming. The bar was dim, but not that dim.

"W-What the hell kind of question is that?" he demanded indignantly, scooting back when the obnoxious redhead laughed and sat down on the stool beside his.

"A perfectly legitimate one, I would think." The guy turned and called out for a rum and coke, and the bartender nodded. "I mean, it's pretty obvious, kid. Have you looked at yourself recently?"

Almost instantly, the blush and all other color drained from his face.

_'Oh God. No...no, it can't be that obvious! It can't be, can it?!'_ He panicked for a moment, oblivious, as the redhead tapped beside his right eye.

"Name's Axel. Got it memorized? I got good eyes, and I can tell you play. It must be nice. What positions do you like best?"

"_WHAT?" _Roxas yelped so loud and so high, he was sure dogs could hear it down the street.

"You know, positions." Axel paused as if thinking. "You look like you've got a good grip," he indicated, sweeping a hand to where Roxas's fist was clenched, almost sheet white now, around his beer bottle. "But then again, you've got some nice legs on you too. I could see you working up a real sweat with those beauties." With seemingly no regard for tact or courtesy, the other man ducked under the bar and looked at his legs for what felt like several minutes. In actuality it was barely 10 seconds, but still, Roxas was mortified.

He was not comfortable with being "out" yet. Only a select few of his friends knew; he hadn't even broken the news to his parents. It would break his mother's heart, he was sure, and he just couldn't bring himself to tell her or his dad. Not yet, at least.

And here was this complete stranger, being a completely blatant asshole!

Drawing some courage to him, the younger man faced Axel and called a scowl to his face.

"I don't like what y-you're implying." Damn that voice crack. His conviction shook, but only a little. "My sexuality is my business, but even if I was interested in men, why would you think I'd go for a sleazy, dirty, forward pig like y-"

"Woah woah woah! Back up, kid!" Axel cut in quickly, sounding... amused? The hell?! "Chill out. What are you talking about? When did your sexuality have anything to do with this?"

"When you just asked me?" Roxas exclaimed, incredulous. "When you asked things like...'positions' and 'catching' and whatever vulgar things!"

The older man shook his head, chuckling. "Wow. Taking it wrong much? Kid, I was talking about baseball."

"...What?"

"Baseball. You know? Catching, pitching, umpires, outfielders, bases, balls, bats. You know that stuff, or did they not have it on Mars?"

"But I- Y-You just- Ugh!" Roxas smacked his forehead, confused and more than a little embarrassed. He played baseball after class sometimes with Hayner and his gang. How could he have been so scatterbrained? Maybe the guy had seen him at practice and just wanted to strike up a friendly conversation, or maybe he really was that good at judging by non-verbal clues?

Had he really mistaken that talk for a sexual overture, or was the other guy just lying? Either way, his face burned with shame, as their increasingly loud exclamations had drawn the attention of other bar-goers. They looked on confused or annoyed, and Axel waved them off, turning back to the blonde.

"Defensive much, kid?" He chuckled and threw his arm around Roxas, tugging him into an awkward hug. "Lighten up! This place is friendly to that type of thing anyways, so there's nothing to be nervous or ashamed of!"

"I-I'm not ashamed," he scrambled to reply, finally pulling himself away. "And what makes you think I am gay?!"

Axel shrugged. "You might have just been insecure in your masculinity, but your reaction wasn't hate-based so much as fear-based. Your clothes, while not extravagant, are perfectly tailored. Your hair is styled, and personality wise, you seem quiet and unsure. Combine that with the fact that this is a mixed bar, and someone could easily mistake you for being gay. So let's get this straight now, no pun intended. Are you gay?"

With some hesitation and more than a little resignation, Roxas nodded.

"Okay. That's cool. I'm guessing your new to this then." Axel's drink slid across the table to him, and he caught it, downing it in a little over a minute.

Roxas watched, surprised.

"Are you gay?" Axel, still drinking, shot him a thumbs up. "H-How long have you known?"

Wiping his lips, he sighed. "All my life, I think."

"You don't look gay to me," Roxas said simply. Axel set the glass down with a soft clack on the counter.

"What, you mean the uber feminine stereotype they play up in movies, shopping with girlfriends and giving hapless straight people advice on their outfits?" The blonde nodded, smiling a little. "All types of gays out there, kid. Don't trust labels, or they'll just keep you down. Plus, these looks could be deceiving. You'll never know unless you try me."

The younger boy blushed at that.

"My name is Roxas, by the way." It couldn't hurt, right? "Sorry about the misunderstanding earlier."

"Oh, it wasn't entirely a misunderstanding," Axel said, a grin slowly spreading over his face. "I knew you actually played, and also thought you might get a laugh from some of these lines. But see, I am actually curious how you _play._"

And suddenly Axel was leaning over, into his personal space, which he had tried to communicate tonight was not open to crossing. The redhead was whispering in his ear, saying things that made the younger man blush and squirm and maybe even yearn a little. Then Axel was leaving, sliding a small scrap of paper with a number scrawled on it into his free hand. The blonde had never seen him write it.

Maybe he just had it on hand? In case he met someone and couldn't find a pen?

Biting his lip, Roxas looked down at it, flipping it over to find an extra message on the back.

_"Look me up if you're game, Roxy. I've got a few bases we could round..."_


	27. New Year's Retribution

A little late, since I was planning to do this one for New Years, but by request: Axel's Revenge :) Rated M probably for sexual implications

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><p>The castle was getting to be a rather exciting place nowadays. Several numbers were engaging in relationships with other numbers, and while it was unprecedented, their Superior said nothing of it. Little did they know that he too was interested in doubling up with a certain serious, blue-haired subordinate. But that is, of course, a story for another time.<p>

After the incident at Christmas, Roxas and Axel had gone back to dating like nothing had changed, much to their fellow member's disappointment. Disappointing because, while they were the first of any in the Organization to pair up, they were a relatively boring couple outside of closed doors. They went on missions together whenever possible, but when that wasn't an option, they met up for ice cream on the clock tower in Twilight Town. They played video games together and with others, but they rarely exchanged dating pleasantries in public, nor were they ever caught doing anything inappropriate. Demyx and Zexion made a more interesting pair because Demyx was everything Zexion was not. He was not at all subtle, silent, tasteful, or discreet.

Suffice it to say Axel and Roxas did not seem very attracted to one another. How could they if hearts were not involved? They did not even display open lust or fascination. It seemed more an extension of their friendship than what those with hearts and emotions would call "dating."

But apparently the two were a bit more devious than the others gave them credit for.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Roxas stared blankly into his drawers before shutting them with a sigh. He had known retribution was coming, after all.

Without a word, he went to the hall and tried every other door, but none would budge. Axel had probably done that on purpose as well.

With another heavy sigh, the blonde shrugged his shoulders.

He went to join the others for the New Year's festivities, sure in the knowledge that they would be drinking and fooling around long before the clock struck twelve. He was even more sure that he would get ogles and laughs, but that was the worst of it. Roxas barely noticed as he passed Xion in the hall.

"Good evening, Rox-"

He waved at her passively as he went, seemingly unfazed as his friend covered her face and turned a deep shade of red. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a bit of blood spilling out of her gloved fingers. It would only get worse from there.

He was right.

"Well." Marluxia stood in front of him, eyes wide. "I see Axel has gotten his revenge."

Roxas shrugged. "I suppose he has." He walked past the other nobody, whose gape slowly morphed into a feral grin.

"Doesn't it make you nervous? Being so vulnerable?" He came up beside him and pressed him to the wall. "You would be powerless to stop me."

"I might be," the boy replied. "But he isn't." Blue eyes shifted, indicating behind them.

"And just what is going on here?" Marluxia paled a little, turning his head just as Vexen stepped up and pulled him away. "You had better have a good explanation for this betrayal, Number Eleven."

"Nothing happened, Vexen. I was simply making a point."

"You had better hope not," the Chilly Academic said irritably, his glare shifting to Roxas. "And just what was your part in this?"

The boy gave him a sad, innocent look. "Me? I'm just a victim of Axel's cruel revenge. Your partner was going to take advantage of me."

"Was he now?"

Despite his predicament, Roxas couldn't help but grin as the disgruntled scientist muttered dark promises, dragging a nervous Marluxia away by his ear. Perhaps, if he played his cards right, this night would be a lot less painful.

So it proved.

For every laugh he got, the blonde got just as many laughs of his own. It was lucky that all the perverted, snarky Organization members had more stoic, jealous partners. He casually went to the kitchen, ignoring the camera flashes from Larxene and grabbed himself a soda.

Axel was waiting there.

"Hey, Roxy." Green eyes glimmered evilly, meeting bored blue. "Aren't you naughty today. The castle too hot for you?"

"Not really. I just felt like going natural." Roxas popped the can and took a long sip, ignoring his boyfriend's wandering eyes.

"I'll bet the others _love_ that."

The blonde grinned. "Oh yes. You should see the good pictures Larxene got."

Axel frowned a little. "Pictures?"

"Yes. Half of the Organization is going to miss the party tonight. They'll either be _occupied_ or kissing up to jealous partners." Roxas chuckled to himself, leaning back against the counter.

"Oh really?"

"Really. How does it feel, Axel, knowing that everyone has naked pictures of your boyfriend?"

Axel stood quietly for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. Sparks flickered between his fingers as he clenched them, then unclenched, then clenched them again.

"Damn you."

The blonde snorted. "It's your own damn fault for not thinking things through. And messing with me, of course." Setting the drink down, he walked up to the redhead and jabbed him in the chest. "You are in for so, so, soooo much worse next time. I hope this was worth it."

Axel smiled weakly. "Do we have to keep doing this? Can't we just, you know, call it even?"

Roxas tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, if..."

That night, instead of a well-timed kiss at the stroke of midnight, one small blonde nobody slept comfortably in his bed, his clothes and towels returned to their proper places, while a certain sulking, irritable redheaded nobody went from room to room, disposing of pictures and force-feeding drunk and sleeping cohorts with a memory erasing potion, generously provided by Vexen.

Even as they were, the both of them knew full well that the score was 2 to 0.


	28. Springtime

This one is based (pretty loosely) on the myth of Demeter, Hades, and Persephone. Enjoy :)

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><p>Throwing open the door, Axel stormed into the room. It was dark but for one small candle, casting shadows and gleams on the splendor around it. A bed adorned in beautiful, smooth fabrics. Jewels and treasures beyond count that lay scattered on the floor. A young man sat beside the small candle, bent forward with his head in his hands.<p>

The Lord of the Underworld seethed.

"Still you sulk in here? Ungrateful child!" He swept his hand across the table, sending its trinkets clattering to the floor. "Have I not given you everything? Anything you could possibly desire?"

The young man lifted his head, blue eyes shimmering with tears. For a moment, Axel's anger cooled. It had been so long since he had seen such beauty in light.

"I desire freedom, and sunlight. I want to see my brother again. Please," he begged softly. "Please let me go."

"Freedom," Axel scoffed, turning away. "That is something that no one truly possesses. Had I freedom, do you think I would sit here, in the dark, with only the souls of the dead and the damned for company?"

The boy looked at him sadly, and the Lord of the Underworld shook his head. "No, Roxas. I am here because I must be. But you have brought beauty and sunlight into my world again. Even if my time in the world above is short, here you are, all the wonder and grace that that world could offer, here for me and me alone. Can't you understand?"

Roxas curled further inward, looking down at the flickering candle with despair.

"I cannot truly understand your burden, nor your sorrows. Not when you have done this to me." He looked down at his wrists, fingers running along one of the smooth, silver bands. "These treasures you give me are only shackles. The love you claim is selfish."

"I will not release you!" Axel bellowed in reply. His anger rose when the young man, a fellow god, cowered in his wake. "You are mine, Roxas! You have eaten the food of this realm, and so you will remain here!"

"Then do not demand anything more of me!" he cried. "Do not ask love and loyalty that I cannot give!"

"I only want a smile! Anything but this pathetic simpering!" Axel stalked over and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him to his feet. "How many times must I ask it? I promised that I would not harm you, nor take anything that you were not willing to give! Can you find no reason to smile? To laugh and be merry as you did above?"

He paused to await the young man's answer, but Roxas did not give it. They stood in silence then, the redhead's gaze melting from anger to pain as he regarded his unwilling consort. He wished he had never seen such beauty at all, if it was only to taunt and withhold itself from him.

"You dwell in darkness and fire, Lord Axel, surrounded by death. I love life and the beauty of all things. The sun, the flowers, the animals, they are my life and my kin. I miss them, and..." The blonde began to cry again, falling out of the other's arms as he sank to his knees. "Sora..."

The Lord of the Underworld looked down on the boy with loneliness and pity. His rage would not endear Roxas to him, but only extend the distance between them. With a sigh, he knelt and lifted that sad face to meet his gaze once more.

"We...are not so different, I think. At times I miss the world above, and the flowers and trees and animals. At time, I too miss the warm company of others. A hand to hold, or even a tender look from one as beautiful as you." He smiled when the blonde blushed ever so slightly. "If that is what will make you happy, I will find a way."

Blue eyes widened, looking at him hopefully. Axel smiled with all the sweetness he could manage. "I would do anything to make you smile."

Even as his tears were wiped away, Roxas hesitated to believe it. He had heard many stories of Axel, of his frightening role as the Master of Death; that he was cruel and selfish and lived for the death of all that was good. Sora rarely spoke well of him, and Xemnas did not at all.

But this man before him was not so hard and cruel. Powerful, as a god should be; he was quick to anger, but he had honored his word. He had never harmed Roxas despite his obvious displeasure. He had only offered him gifts and food and only asked him not to cry anymore. Why had he even taken him in the first place?

"Xemnas will be sending a messenger on Sora's behalf. I will not let him take you away, but perhaps I can arrange visits..."

"Oh, thank you!" The blonde embraced him, startling the mighty Lord of the Underworld into silence. When they pulled apart, he was stunned yet again, met with a smile more radiant than the sun itself. "Please, let me see my brother again. For that, I will do what you ask, so long as you are kind and honor your promises."

Axel easily agreed.

Though Xemnas commanded that Roxas be returned to Sora every year, he allowed him to stay in the Underworld for several months, as Axel's consort. In time, Roxas grew to love him, and the world found the balance of life and death.


	29. Peas in a Pod

Looking at the sight before him, Axel's mind grasped only one word to describe it. '_Sardines.'_

Bored, tired faces pressed up against the window, arms shouting straight up in the air to cling to rails and safety handles. Backpacks, purses, and suitcases clutched tightly to sides, laps, or shoved up above the seats, all so that there was more space for people. Business suites, school kids, punks, ganguro, lolita, all crammed together in the strangest mix of human soup...

In short, there was not an inch of personal space to be found.

Never before had he seen such a large cluster of human activity, and on a single train car! He'd been to concerts less crowded than this!

Axel was from America. He had ridden a crowded bus once, and maybe he had taken the metro into D.C. to go see that Colbert/Stewart Rally to Restore Sanity, or whatever the hell it was, with friends. That was the worst he could remember.

Trains in Tokyo easily topped that experience.

With a shaky sigh and a sinking feeling of dread, the redhead stepped onto the train with a few hurried business men and women, mimicking them as best he could. For such a tourist friendly place, people sure pushed and shoved a lot. These people were literally cramming themselves into the mass.

Axel was vaguely aware of the many eyes running him up and down, but he was growing used to it by now. He was a foreigner, and an extremely unique-looking one at that. He'd had children run up to him on the streets three times already, excitedly chattering and pointing at him. That was cute, if a little unnerving.

The redhead supposed this was the closest he'd get to knowing how minorities felt, living in predominantly white countries. It was interesting to experience, certainly.

And then the train jumped to life, and everyone shifted like a human wave. Axel looked around, startled, as a kindly woman's voice floated down from above, cooing the name of the next stop in Japanese, then English. Instinctively, the redhead held onto the safety handle, but he really didn't need to. The group moved as a whole, but held him in place at the same time. Like gelatin.

'_Good to know I've got a human seatbelt.' _It seemed like it would be a disaster if they had an accident.

It didn't take long to reach any stop, but already his legs were getting tired.

"Sumimasen (1)."

"Gomen ne (2)."

Axel grimaced as more people pushed past him. A few were nice enough to offer some apology (he picked up that much from his intro class), but most said nothing. It seemed commonly understood that it was fight your way in, fight your way out.

And this was only a Tuesday.

"Hey!" The redhead rounded on the man behind him, seeing a small, uncomfortable Japanese man standing behind him. "Watch the hands, please." Space or no space, it was courtesy at least to keep from touching his butt.

"S-Sumimasen ga, ore wa eigo o hanasanai desu. (3)." The man then pushed his way through the crowd to the other side of the car. Axel watched him go, piecing the words together in his head. It was probably an accident.

The train jolted along the tracks.

A few more stops, and thankfully most of the people got off. The seats were still full, but there was space to walk or just stand, even stretch if he felt like it. Axel had never been so thankful...

And then another hand brushed too low.

"Okay, I let it slide last time, but there is no way in hell you _had_ to do that," he snapped, spinning around to meet...Pretty blue eyes.

Blinking, he looked over the figure more thoroughly. Another foreigner, obviously. Blonde haired, blue-eyed, dressed in nice black pants and and a checkered jacket-shirt combo. He had a very young, feminine-looking face and a lean, but lightly muscled build.

_'Okay...so, maybe I don't mind him groping me...'_

"Sugoi irezumi da. Demo, anata ga shinchōdearubekida. (4)"

The redhead blinked at him, utterly lost. Outside of his class, he'd heard a few eastern european languages come from the mouths of other foreigners. He'd never met one who spoke Japanese with such confidence and smooth pronunciation.

The intimidation lowered his hotness factor slightly, but that was just Axel's insecurities talking.

"Uh...I-I mean ano... w-watashi no namae wa Akuseru desu...Ni...nihongo o amari wakarimasen (5)."

"Oh, I see," the blonde replied, chuckling when Axel gaped at him. "Yes, I speak English. You never asked that. I just wanted to let you know that some places might not serve you because of those tattoos."

The older boy touched his own face, feeling the marks on his cheeks. "These? Why?"

The blonde shrugged. "Stigma. It's a punk and yakuza thing, mostly. Some folks are just apprehensive, but others won't want you around period. I figured I'd let you know about it, but since you're clearly American, they might let it slide. Although..." He looked him over, almost a little too intently. "You rock the punk look pretty solidly."

"Oh...yeah." It wasn't really his fault for the red hair, but he did enjoying spiking it. And it couldn't help that black was a favorite color of his. "Wait, then what are you?"

"Oh, I'm American too. I've just been here longer than you." The boy chuckled, and Axel felt unbelievably embarrassed. Sure, he had only been here a day or two, but here was another American, a cute one at that, who was already a better speaker than he was. It made him jealous, too. He wanted to be that good at Japanese one day, but right now, between the jetlag and navigating a busy foreign country with bare bones language skills, he was too exhausted to really put a lot of effort into it right then.

"My name is Roxas, by the way. Roxas Black. And you're Akuseru?" Roxas chuckled the last part, and Axel flushed slightly.

"Uhhh...Yeah. It's Axel. You know, like the guy from Guns and Roses? You just spell it a bit differently."

"Nice..." Roxas took his hand and shook it. "Cool name and hot to boot. Now if only you were Japanese, you'd be a triple threat."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. So, what part of the states are you from?" Despite the awkward start, they quickly fell into comfortable conversation. Roxas was a west coaster, and he was an east coaster. The blonde graduated earlier that year and decided to take some time traveling all around Japan, perfecting his language skills and sampling the local cuisine. He'd just come from working on a farm out in the country for a few weeks, and it seemed he'd work plenty of other odd jobs while he'd been there. Axel was there with a school group for part of the summer, getting a nice, even mix of culture and study.

They quickly found out that they were both fans of Japanese mythology and anime.

"A guitarist? Really?"

"Yeah, I play with my band outside of class. I also do vocals."

Roxas laughed. "Trying to be the next Axl Rose?"

"We actually cross a couple genres. It's cool. If you want to swap music sometime, I can give you some mp3s."

"Sounds great." The blonde was nice enough to give him a few tourist pointers. First, cover the tattoos with make up, if he could. Other things were a little easier to figure out. Avoid taxis. Look right first, then left when crossing. Stand to the left on escalators. Convenience stores are your friend. Avoid eating or drink while walking somewhere?

"Why don't people do that?"

Roxas shrugged. "I guess people just think it's rude. Or maybe they worry about spilling. Not entirely sure, but you don't see a lot of people swigging coffee down on the way to work or school, do you?"

The redhead thought for a moment. "I guess I don't, but then, I haven't been here that long at all."

They talked for a while more, totally oblivious to the gawkers now. In a country so totally different, it was nice to have several people you actually _could _speak to. Roxas told him that when he'd first come to Japan, even with his boss skills, he'd been tired and stressed constantly thinking in Japanese. He'd cried the second night in his hotel briefly, but he wasn't ashamed to admit it.

Totally immersing yourself in a new place with different customs, languages, and levels of etiquette and contextual significance was never easy.

"Hey, what stop were you getting off at?"

Axel blinked. "Yurakucho. Why?"

The blonde gave him a helpless smile. "We passed that a while ago. Next stop is Gotanda."

The older boy checked his watch, listening frantically when the nice woman's voice came on the intercom again, announcing the station ahead.

"Shit, you're right! I'm gonna be late for class!"

Luckily, Roxas had a map of the JR lines he could look at. When they hit the stop, he was going to get on a train heading the other way. It'd probably be on the same platform, just across from where he got off.

"You can keep the map. Oh, and one more thing." The blonde snatched the paper from him just as the train started to skid to a halt. Axel took it back a moment later, blinking at the two numbers uncomprehendingly.

"One is my U.S. cell and the other is my Tokyo cell. Look me up when you have time. I'll be here for at least another week or two."

"O-Okay."

Roxas gave him a warm, seductive smile as he rushed to leave the car.

"Jane, Akuseru-san (6)."

* * *

><p>For reference (and keep in mind, I'm still learning XD):<p>

(1) Pardon me.

(2) Sorry.

(3) Excuse me, but I don't speak English.

(4) Those are cool tattoos. But you should be careful.

(5) Um...My name is Axel. I don't understand much Japanese.

(6) See you, Axel.

Incidentally, sayonara is a much more permanent goodbye than jane, so hopefully Roxas will see him again soon ;) Maybe they can meet up for some international lovin' XD


	30. Pretty Boy

A fluffy little drabble for Valentines Day 2013. :) Hope everyone has a good one.

* * *

><p>"Yeah...Yeah. Come at me, pretty boy."<p>

Roxas ignored the taunts and focused on his opponent's stance. It was overdone, swaying back and forth like he could spring forward any second. Overconfident, and downright silly. The younger boy raised his bat defensively, biting his lip as they continued circling. No need to be hasty just yet. The clock was still running.

"What's wrong, brat? Come at me. Or are you scared?"

The other blonde rolled his eyes. "Scared, Seifer? Of you? Dream on."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

The crowd was egging them on. Everyone was shouting and cheering, especially Hayner and the gang.

"Come on, Roxas!"

"You can beat him!"

"Yeah! Wipe the floor with his punk ass!"

Roxas grinned a little at that last one. Hayner didn't pussyfoot around things. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the ref reprimand him for swearing at a family event. Good thing he'd been beaten in the last round or he could have been disqualified.

Other than scanning the crowd once or twice, he kept his focus on his opponent, who turned toward the crowd and sneered.

"Shut it, Hayner! You couldn't even beat me! And you dweebs!" he shouted the last bit at his two goons, Fuu and Rai. Rai jumped a little, then turned to the rest of the crowd and started pumping his fist.

"Yeah! Go Seifer! Seifer's the best, you know?!"

Fuu just shrugged and copied him, albeit less enthusiastically.

Seifer shook his head. "You guys are worthless."

It was now or never. The older blonde was distracted by the crowd.

Roxas rushed forward and slammed him to the ground, knocking a lot of orbs off of him. While Seifer sat there for a moment, seeming frozen in surprise, the other boy collected as many of the scattered orbs as he could.

Then Seifer started to get to his feet, growling. "You little..."

Roxas ignored him, reaching for the last few. Almost there-

"Time!"

He smirked, straightening his shoulders and raising his bat triumphantly as the crowd started to cheer.

"Wow! What a win! There you have it, folks! The winner of this year's Struggle is: Roxas!"

Seifer scoffed as he tossed his bat aside and turned to leave. As he made to leave, he paused next to Roxas and growled, "I could have beaten you, no sweat. This changes nothing."

The other blonde smiled innocently. "Of course. See you next year, Seifer." He had the satisfaction of seeing the boy skulk off, his goons hurrying to follow.

His friends gathered around as the ref presented the trophy.

"Now Roxas, you have the chance to fight the Champ. Do you want to go for the title this year?"

He shook his head. "Nah, not this time."

"What?! Roxas!"

"Come on! Who knows when you'll get another shot!"

When he didn't change his mind, the ref shrugged.

"I guess that's it, folks! Be sure to come back next season for more Struggle!"

Everyone left except for the gang, who seemed dumbfounded that he'd declined the challenge. But Roxas couldn't really care less. He looked around as people dispersed, frowning. Where was he?

"I can't believe you turned down the offer!" Hayner groaned, slapping him hard on the back. "If I'd won, I'd have challenged Setzer!"

"But you didn't win. Besides, Roxas won the tournament. Isn't that more important?"

"I agree with Pence," Olette said, smiling, "He did us proud today."

"Yeah, I guess."

They asked him at one point if he was going with them to the beach tomorrow to celebrate, and Roxas nodded, still distracted. His friends left too; Pence went to do homework and Hayner and Olette left for their date. Roxas stood on the edge of the stage, feeling his heart sink just a little. Seriously, where was he? He said he'd be here.

Then he heard a loud clap. Jumping a little, the blonde turned and saw a tall boy with fiery hair standing at the other end of the platform, clapping.

"Roxas, alright! Fight fight fight!"

Roxas's smile morphed into a frown again, and he put a hand on his hip. "Cut the bull, Axel. Did you miss my fight?"

The older boy's face fell and he had the decency to look sheepish.

"I...yeah."

"Axel."

He promised he'd be here, and he'd missed it again.

"Look, I'm sorry, babe. I got stuck with a longer shift at the store. By the time I got over here, everything was wrapping up." Roxas still looked unsympathetic, and the redhead sighed. "I'm really sorry, Rox. I tried to make it. Really, I did."

"You know why I'm mad though, right?" Axel nodded and the blonde sighed, scratching the back of his head. These tournaments were important to him, and he got that his boyfriend was busy most times, but he wanted him to come and see him at least once. This would have been a great day for it, especially because he'd won.

"Well, I still came to pick you up for our date. And I brought some chocolate." Axel held up the flowery, heart-shaped box and Roxas's lips twitched upward briefly.

"It's a start. Buy me dinner and I'll think about letting you off." The redhead grinned.

"Sure, kid. C'mere."

Roxas picked up the trophy and walked down the steps and past Axel, punching him hard in the shoulder as he went.

"Hey! I meant 'c'mere and hug me!'" He caught up quickly with his longer legs, rubbing his shoulder. Roxas just smiled.

"Let's drop this at my place first, then I'll hug you." He did concede to hold his boyfriend's hand, however. It seemed appropriate for a day such as this. He felt the mood lifting as they walked, as Axel got that stupid grin on his face.

"You're pretty when you smile, you know."

He let go long enough to punch the older boy's shoulder again.

"Shut up."

Axel just kissed his cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day, Rox."


	31. It Gets Worse, Not Better

...I seriously don't know where this one came from. Maybe a response to Valentine's Day and all of its fluffiness. Be warned that there are sensitive subjects and words herein.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, but I just don't feel the same."<p>

"O-Oh." Roxas took a step back and looked at the floor, feeling his cheeks burst with color.

_'Didn't I warn you? I tried to protect you, but you just had to tell him, didn't you? _

"I'm sorry, Roxas," the redhead said simply. His gaze was sympathetic, pitying, but his stance was awkward, uncomfortable. Like he wanted to walk away from this.

_'He could never love someone like you. How could anyone?'_

"I-Is it because I'm a guy?" he asked meekly.

"No...no, it's not that."

"Is it because I'm unpopular?"

"No! Damn it, Roxas, it's not that!" The smaller boy jumped a little at the harshness in his voice. He was already shaking, but it was growing worse by the minute; the longer he fought the tears gathering in his eyes.

"Then why? Why won't you give me a chance?"

"Why are you being so pushy about it?" Axel snapped back. "I said I wasn't interested, kid, now can't you just leave it alone?"

_'I would if I could, but I can't. Why can't you understand?'_

_'Why are you trying so hard? He doesn't care. Look at him. He hates you. He wants nothing at all to do with you.'_

It couldn't be true, could it?

He'd had crush on Axel Brooks for as long as he could remember. It wasn't easy being out in high school, especially not when the kids were so unforgiving. Why did they care that he liked guys? Why did they care about who he liked?

Everyday was hell. Being shoved into lockers or tripped on the bus or just being jostled. Sometimes the worst of it was being ignored. Being treated like less than a human being.

The only thing that kept him going was this crush. He had no friends, no talents, nothing that made him worth being around or even worth existing. But Axel had been kind to him once, helping him pick up his books when a jock knocked them out of his hands. He thought Axel was different...

"Look kid, you know better than anyone what it means to be gay at this school. It's social suicide! I can't come out now, maybe not ever! I won't do it, you hear?"

"B-But why?" If a popular kid was gay, maybe the others would be more accepting. Maybe they would-

"I'm not coming out, okay?!" he hissed, making Roxas shrink back and earnestly start to cry. "Not for you or anyone else! So just deal with it!"

He stormed past the blonde and out of the now empty locker room. He heard people outside asking what the little 'fag' wanted.

"He wanted my dick up his ass," Axel snarked. There were shrieks of laughter and more derogatory names shouted at him until the door finally fell shut, sealing out the noise.

Roxas hugged himself and slid down his locker to the floor, sobbing. Now everyone was going to hate him for coming on to Axel. No one would believe that his crush was just an innocent attraction. He really just wanted a friend he could play video games with, who could spend time with him and just...love him.

_'This is where that bravery got you. Now you can't ever go back.'_

It was only going to get worse from here on out.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Axel couldn't help but feel bad as he shrugged off his backpack into the passenger seat of his car.

Roxas seemed like a nice enough kid, and he was kind of cute. The redhead almost regretted turning him down, but he definitely regretted the childish thing he'd said to his friends. That was totally unnecessary, and the poor kid was sure to take a lot of crap because of it.

He usually like to listen to the radio while he drove, but today Axel rode in silence. He just couldn't stop thinking about the whole thing.

Sometimes it really hurt hiding who he was, but it was for the best. His parents would cut him off and kick him out for sure. His friends would shun him, and probably pull the same shit they did on Roxas. He wasn't ready for that, and maybe he never would be. Sure, he wasn't attracted to Larxene or any of the other girls, but it wouldn't kill him to pretend. Everyone would be happy, and he...well, he wouldn't be very happy, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He could only try to be as happy as he could.

He pulled his dusty old ford up into his usual parking space and went to his locker. The halls weren't totally crowded at this hour, but people were rushing around a lot today. He mostly ignored it, reaching down to turn the lock to that familiar combination.

Just as the device clicked open, Marluxia ran up beside him.

"Dude, did you hear? That little fag killed himself!"

Dropping his books in shock, Axel turned to him, eyes wide.

"What?! What happened?! When?!"

The other boy shook his head. "No idea. The teachers are trying to keep everyone out of the gym til the guys come to move the body. I heard it wasn't pretty."

Leaving his locker swinging open, Axel turned and ran towards the gym locker room. His friend called after him, but he never heard him. He couldn't; the only sound was the ringing in his ears. He couldn't have heard that right, right? Roxas wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He'd just...just had an accident or something! The kid was a total klutz!

The redhead pushed his way through the now crowded halls, ducking in and around the teachers that tried to block the students off.

"Hey! Mr. Brooks, get back here!"

He turned the corner and stopped by the lockers, feeling the urge to wretch.

The body on the ground barely looked like Roxas anymore. It was beaten black and blue and so very, very red. Not an inch of him wasn't bruised or cut in some way. A note lay beside him, written in blood red. It may have been blood, for all Axel knew. But he noticed right away that it wasn't the boy's handwriting. He'd glanced at his essays and tests enough to know. Whoever had done this wanted it to look like a suicide, but they weren't very smart about it.

This had to be Seifer's doing.

Axel fell to his knees, swarmed with guilt and misery. He had done this. It was his fault. If he hadn't drawn attention to Roxas's crush, the kid might still be alive. And the worst part was that he couldn't do shit about it.

He touched that beaten face gently, almost reverently. His voice broke in a sob, and he laughed.

"See Roxas? This is why I couldn't love you." All the more reason to hide away, to blend in. His life was on the line.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, s-so sorry."


	32. Breathless

Axel woke with a start, almost jerking up in bed as the door slammed against the wall. Shocked, he clutched a hand to his chest as he looked at the blonde standing in the doorway.

"Jesus, Rox. You scared the shit out of me." He laughed awkwardly as the smaller man shrugged, slinking closer.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to do that." The blonde shuffled his feet guiltily, eyes hesitantly meeting Axel's. "The door creaks if you open it slowly and it's pretty loud."

"Yeah, I know," Axel yawned, rolling over. "Don't sweat it. Just come to bed."

Why was Roxas only getting the late shift these days? It frustrated the redhead that the only time he could see his boyfriend was in the morning, briefly, before work. By the time Roxas got home at night, he was either asleep on his feet, Axel was asleep, or they were awake but neither of them had the energy to do anything but veg.

As he began going back to sleep, Axel heard the soft thud of clothes hitting the floor. He was vaguely aware of the bathroom light flipping on, the sounds of running water and teeth being brushed. A gargle, a spit, running water again. Then the light clicked off, shrouding the room in darkness again.

But instead of the usual warmth at his back, Axel distinctly felt Roxas climb onto the bed by his feet and crawl up, slowly, purposefully, so that he was straddling his body. Cracking a tired eye open, he could make out Roxas leaning over him, just as the younger man bent forward, starting to kiss his neck and collarbone.

"Rox, not tonight. Too tired..." As his eye closed again, he caught the glimpse of a pout.

"But it's been so long!" Roxas whined, relaxing his arms so that he was laying comfortably on Axel's side. He kissed a pale, cool shoulder. "Can we at least cuddle? Please, Ax. I've missed this so much..."

Damn hormones. There was no way he could sleep now.

"Well, aren't you frisky tonight..." He smiled widely, rolling over so that he was on his back. He wanted to wrap his arms around his boyfriend and pull him close. It'd been so long since they'd had time alone. He squirmed a little, trying to free his arms which were pressed firmly to his sides. Roxas had incredible thighs...

"What do you want to do?" Letting his eyes adjust more to the darkness, he saw a glint of something strange in Roxas's gaze. The blonde's cute, sexy smile morphed into a full on smirk.

"I want to show you," he said simply, resting his hand on pillow next to him.

"Show me what?" Axel purred, eyes roaming his boyfriend's bare chest, feeling more energy the more he desired. He knew what he liked, but tonight he wanted to see where Roxas would take things. The blonde was shy and unsure of himself; he usually got nervous and awkward when the two of them got intimate. This seemed so unlike him...

If he'd have been watching, the look on the blonde's face would have made him scream.

"My love, darling."

Roxas moved too fast for him to see. Before he knew what was happening, Axel felt a soft, smooth surface pressed to his face, then pressed hard. He gasped and struggled, realizing that he could no longer breathe.

The blonde kept his seat, squeezing his thighs tighter around his boyfriend's arms and watching as he squirmed and thrashed, his shouts muffled by the pillow. Roxas felt his blood pumping wildly, excitement mingling with rage, and he pressed the pillow even harder. His muscles locked, firm and sturdy, unrelenting, unhesitating, as he watched life slipping away by his own hand...

He leaned close, as steadily as he could manage, and whispered soothingly.

"Shhhhhhhh. Go back to sleep..."

Gradually, the redhead's struggles lessened. His movements grew less forceful and jerky, becoming weaker and weaker, slower, like he was resisting pure gravity itself. With an inaudible gasp, Axel fell still, the last of his breath exhaled into nothingness.

Roxas sat up slowly and took a breath like he had never tasted air before. All of the tension left his body, so much so that he almost slumped against his victim. But somehow, he held upright, choking a laugh as he looked up at the ceiling fan.

"It's over. It's finally over."

After thirty minutes of silence, he looked down at the motionless body. He removed the pillow, gazing at the frozen, stricken face, and reached forward to close the eyes and mouth. Without the pain and panic, Axel could have been sleeping, just as peacefully as he was before the blonde had come in.

"It's your own fault." He stroked the side of Axel's face, the skin cool but smooth. "How many chance did I give you? Ten, twenty, thirty? You could have told me the truth and spared yourself this whole ugly mess."

Axel said nothing. Roxas expected that, he supposed.

The downside of this was that he would never know. He might have never gotten the answer when the redhead was alive, but it was definitely gone now.

Why? Why had Axel done it? Why had he lied? Did he ever love him at all?

Somehow, Roxas doubted it.

"I loved you." A tear almost escaped then, but the blonde wiped it away. There was no reason to cry. He did what had to be done.

He bent forward and kissed those lips one last time. They were cold and unresponsive, and Roxas's smirk returned as he pulled back, grasping that cold face in his hands.

"Don't you worry, love. Xion is next..."


	33. Perfect

"She's beautiful." Roxas's voice was stunned, blissful to the point of tears. Axel kissed his cheek, looking down at the baby in his arms.

"And she's ours," he whispered, gripping his husband tighter as he began to shake. He knew what it meant to Roxas. He'd been waiting for this moment since the day they married. The blonde laughed, careful to support his daughter as he reached up to wipe the tears away.

"She has you hair."

"And your eyes." Axel turned the younger man in his arms. Kairi cooed softly at the motion, looking up at him with big, bright blue eyes. "She's ours in every way, Rox."

The two of them were so in love; they were perfect together and wanted for nothing. They fought from time to time, but things resolved quickly and the make up sex was, of course, fantastic. But Roxas had grown so sad recently. He'd spent more time on his own, what with Axel working and traveling a lot, and he'd been thinking more and more. About his sister's family, about his parent's hopes, but also his own...

He didn't want to be a girl, nor did Axel want him to be, but the blonde was jealous that women could carry children and give birth and he couldn't. He wished he could carry a child, give birth, and raise a family, but it just couldn't be done.

He so wanted to be a father...

Axel knew that his husband wanted kids, and while he wasn't crazy about them, he could deal with one or two. And he would do just about anything to make Roxas happy. Looking at his new daughter, he knew in his heart that they had made the right decision. Kairi was not blood-related to either of them, and Roxas didn't carry her inside him, but realistically speaking, this was as close to perfect as could be. And the way the blonde was beaming, practically sobbing with joy, made Axel's heart swell with love and pride.

Th woman from the adoption agency smiled widely at the scene.

"I can tell the two of you are going to be wonderful parents."

Roxas laughed weakly. "We will be, won't we?"

The redhead kissed his forehead and gently ruffled the one year old's soft, thin red hair.

"We'll be perfect."


	34. Conventions

This is what we call parody. P-A-R-O-D-Y. Got it memorized? :) Don't let it be said we can't laugh at ourselves.

* * *

><p>"ROOOOOOOOXXXXAS! OH MY GOD!"<p>

"HAVE MY BABIES! NO WAIT! HAVE AXEL'S!"

"TELL AXEL I LOVE HIM!"

Axel just sat there on the hotel bed, laughing his ass off while his friend tried and failed to get the door shut.

"Axel! Get over here and help me!"

"Not a chance, partner," he laughed, flipping the t.v. off. "This is the best entertainment I've had all weekend."

"You ass!" Roxas jerked back before the door could slam him in the face. Prying a few fingers out of the way, he looked through the gap and rolled his eyes. "They have a cave troll!"

"Hey now. That's mean. What would your fans say if they saw the real you?"

"Hopefully they'd stop writing me like I'm a girl and putting me in sex scenes with you!" The redhead threw back his head and laughed. "Seriously! Come and help, or they'll get in here and swarm us both!"

"Fine, fine." He got off the bed as slow as humanly possible, taking a moment to languidly stretch his back and arms. Axel chuckled at the glare the blonde shot him and walked over, shutting the door with minimal effort. He then walked back to the bed and flopped back down, Roxas starring after him as the girls outside whined and sobbed.

"AWWW, COME ON!"

"AT LEAST SHOW US A KISS!"

"ROOOOOOXY!"

"My name isn't Roxy, goddamn it!" The blonde kicked the door hard, wincing and hopping slightly when he felt pain instead of satisfaction. Axel laughed again.

"Just come over here and chill. They'll go away soon enough."

"Not soon enough for my taste," Roxas spat, rubbing his sore foot. But he followed his friend's advice and sat down on the bed, pulling his laptop into his lap. "I swear, cons get more perilous every year."

Axel shrugged, flipping the t.v. back on. Sure enough, the sounds of disappointed fangirls began to die down.

"It used to bother me, but now I just find myself amused."

"That's because I'm the one they glomp!" Roxas snarled, opening his email and trying to busy himself checking it. "You're more intimidating."

"No, I'm just smarter about it." He'd adapted to cons fairly well, and could sense when a fan was coming at them for anything other than an autograph. Now, if it was just taking a picture with them, no harm no foul, but Axel always assumed they were going to tackle him to the ground and so he would dodge, sidestep, and occasionally use Roxas as a meat shield. Needless to say, the results were amusing.

His friend glared at him for a moment, then returned his eyes to the screen. Axel patted his back.

"At least we get in free." Square Enix paid them to go and mingle, and the rate was pretty nice for three days. The cons were happy enough to have them, and the fans even more so, even if they did get out of hand sometimes.

"I can't believe what they ask!" Roxas muttered, reading over a few emails where fans had sent them fanfiction, personally spelling out what they wanted to see them do. It was insane. "Yaoi aside, who would voluntarily have sex in front of so many people?"

"Porn stars?" Axel offered, and Roxas punched his shoulder.

"We are NOT porn stars. And we aren't gay for that matter."

"Ah, but remember, partner," Axel raised his pointer finger and spoke matter-of-factly. "Fan girl logic dictates that if two guys hate each other, they're secretly in love. If they just met, they're in love. If they're friends, they're in love. Look at other pairings. Kaiba and Joey, Sephiroth and Cloud..."

"That's stupid. And maybe I'd be more up for these conventions if people would stop asking us to kiss or screw for their entertainment." The blonde found he had to start taking five hour energies just be upbeat. He couldn't get psyched for these things otherwise. Now, if he could just browse the dealers' room or artists' alley uninterrupted, that would be so much better. But he'd have to wear a wig and colored contacts for that.

"You know, Roxas..."

"Don't you dare! I'm not in the mood, Axel!"

But he started up singing anyway.

"If you were gay, that'd be okay!"

The blonde proceeded to beat him with a pillow until he stopped, but Axel was sure he saw a slight blush forming on his face.

Maybe the kid liked him, or maybe he didn't. Until he knew for sure, Axel guessed he'd just leave it up to the fans.


	35. All's Well in Happenstance

"Mama! Mama, where are you?"

Axel looked away from the crosswalk, eyes widening when he saw another boy wandering the street, alone and distressed. He was a blonde, and looked fairly close to the redhead's own age. The boy's clothes fairly nice but a little dirty, and he was getting soaked in the rain.

Axel's small hand instantly slipped out of his mother's, just as the walk symbol flashed and the crowd started moving.

"Sweetie? Axel, where are you going?"

"Just a second, Mom!" he called back, as he curiously approached the boy who was now sitting on the curb. Coming closer, the older boy could tell he was crying.

"Hello," he said quietly. The blonde looked up, startled for a moment, then sniffled. "My name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

The younger boy blinked at him. "Memorized?"

"It means you remember it." The redhead laughed a little, sitting down beside him. He groaned internally when he felt the back of his pants instantly soaked up the cold water. "What's your name?"

The boy rubbed his eyes and tried to calm his shaky sobs. "R-Roxas."

"Hi, Roxas." Axel looked up and around for a moment, faintly hearing the click of heels on the sidewalk as his mother caught up with them. "Are you lost?"

"Yeah," he said sadly, hugging his knees to his chest. "I can't find Mama."

Elena bent slightly, shifting the umbrella so it covered the boys.

"Axel, you know better than to run off when I'm calling for you. Who's this?" she asked kindly, frowning a little as she looked the blonde over. He was a mess, wet and dirty and shivering.

"This is Roxas, Mom. He says he lost his mom." Axel patted Roxas's back as he shook again.

"Oh, I see..." She thought for a moment. No one around them seemed to notice the lost blonde crying for his mother. "Well, we were going to go get some ice cream. You could come with us and have some, and then we can help you find your mother."

Roxas lifted his head and looked at them both pleadingly.

"W-Why did she leave me? Mama told me to wait for her, but she n-never came back!"

Elena's frown deepened. "She left you alone?"

The boy nodded, sniffling again. "She took me to the park…and t-then said she was going to get me a surprise. But I waited and waited and she never came back!" Axel pulled him into a hug and he buried his face in the redhead's shoulder. "I'm scared! I want m-my mama!"

Axel looked from the blonde to his mother, wondering why she looked concerned. In truth, she worried because the nearest park was several miles from there, which meant that the little boy had been alone for quite some time, and had been wandering the busy, dangerous streets of Hollow Bastian unsupervised.

Careful not to kneel on the cold, wet ground, she crouched and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Roxas, did anything else happen today? Did any strangers talk to you or offer you anything?"

Roxas looked up, confused. "N-No…No one except you." He looked a little suspicious then. "Mr. Leonhart told me to be careful of strangers."

"And who is Mr. Leonhart?"

"My kindergarten teacher. He's really nice." Roxas managed a small smile at that, and it was like the sun came out of the clouds, even through the steady downpour.

Axel helped him up and brushed some of the grimy dirt off. "You don't have to be afraid of us, Roxas. Mom and I are nice. We're not that strange."

The blonde's gaze settled on his wet but still crazily spiked red hair and blinked.

"Your hair is pretty strange," he murmured softly, and Axel laughed.

"You're one to talk." The older boy reached down and tussled his hair gently, brushing some of the water out as he did so. Roxas giggled, his smile widening, and Elena pursed her lips for a moment.

She didn't want to jump to conclusions, having not heard the full story or talked to the police yet, but she feared that Roxas might have been abandoned. She just couldn't see how a responsible, self-respecting parent could leave their child alone and make them wait for…

"Roxas, when was the last time you saw your mother?"

The boy frowned, looking sad again. "This morning. I sat on the swing for a long time."

Elena checked her phone and winced. She knew it was getting late, but it was almost five now! Worse yet, it had been raining since mid-afternoon!

"Mom?" She looked down to see Axel watching her worriedly. Roxas was clutching her son's arm tightly, his big blue eyes boring into hers.

She didn't want to upset Roxas anymore, and she wasn't even certain he'd be able to understand. But he seemed like a sweet little boy, and she was involved now, for better or worse. She couldn't just leave him alone, either here or at the station. No, she was determined that he was going to find his mother. Either that, or...

"It's nothing. How about we get some ice cream, then we'll go to the police station and see about finding your mother?"

"Sounds good to me," Axel said cheerfully, smiling at the younger boy. Roxas hesitantly smiled back, and they linked hands as she led them back to the crosswalk, holding Axel's other hand firmly this time.

Roxas got to try sea-salt ice cream for the first time. He listened contently as Axel rambled from one topic to another, while Elena watched them both with a smile. They were so cute together, making each other smile and laugh.

They never found Roxas's mother. Her home was empty when they tracked it down, and they never knew why she'd abandoned her son in the park that day. But Elena and Axel grew so attached to the little blonde, even in such short a time, that they welcomed him into their small but loving family. Roxas was shy and clingy for a while, not as securely attached as some children, but neither of them minded. Axel got the best friend and little brother he'd always wanted, and Elena got another child to love and cherish.

As she was quite fond of saying, all's well that ends well.


	36. Love Sucks

"Axeeeeeeeeel."

The redhead groaned, pushing his nose further into the morning paper. It seemed like everyone was getting excited over the Preakness lately. Even his parents were getting into it, starting a pool with their friends to see who would win.

"Axeeeeeeel."

Why was he awake at this hour?

Looking up from the article, Axel set the paper down on the table. He turned, not surprised to find Roxas standing in the kitchen, creeping closer.

"What do you want, Roxas?" He needed at least 20 minutes in the morning to himself, or else he was cranky and tired for most of the day. Taking in the blonde's appearance, Axel's eyes widened when he saw the boy's eyes slightly glazed, his mouth opening to reveal prominent, sharp teeth.

"I'm sorry," he said as he stepped closer, looking sheepish. "I know this is your time, but...I'm really hungry."

The redhead ran a hand through his hair, causing a few spikes that had been smoothed down in sleep to pop up again.

"Does it have to be now?" he whined, knowing already that he had no choice.

"I'm sorry," Roxas said guiltily, looking down at his bare feet on the cool tile. "I wish I didn't have to. I know how much you hate it."

Now it was Axel's turn to feel guilty. It wasn't all bad, after all, and Roxas did need to be fed. He hadn't fed the boy in days because he hadn't been home much. It didn't help that they were on totally different sleep schedules, with the blonde excited and awake when Axel wanted to just collapse in bed and never wake up again.

"It's alright. Are you in pain?"

"Not really, but my teeth have been tingling. They started throbbing an hour ago, but I didn't want to wake you."

At least if he was the only one Roxas could feed off of, the blonde respected his space and asked him nicely. He wasn't like some vampires who would bite you in your sleep, suck your blood all out, and then leave without so much as a "by your leave."

No, Roxas had manners. He genuinely cared about people, Axel most of all, and despite Axel's attempts to avoid him or send him away at first, the redhead had soon accepted his fate and completed the pact with the boy. He was even starting to like him too. Maybe even love him.

But Axel did NOT love having his blood sucked.

Usually he tried to force a smile, letting Roxas know that it was okay even if it really wasn't. But today, the smile came warmly and easily, and he beckoned the young vampire closer, tilting his head and looking away as the blonde sat down in his lap. Axel was more relaxed today, to his own surprise, but he refused to look. Blood made him woozy, and once or twice Roxas had gotten...messy while eating. He shuddered at the memory.

"Are you okay, Axel?"

He deemed it safe to look and met concerned blue eyes.

"Yeah. Just be quick, okay?"

The blonde nodded, and Axel looked away again as he felt cool breath on his neck. This would have been sexy if the act of drinking blood didn't damn near repulse him.

Thankfully, Roxas was quick, latching onto his skin in a sharp bite. The redhead bit back a yelp at the intrusion of fangs into his neck, but he held still, waiting for the pain to subside...

It did. Fairly quickly, as usual. Then Roxas removed his fangs and began to drink his blood.

Cheesy romance novels liked to play up sexy vampires; how attractive they were and how pleasurable being bitten could be. Axel didn't really see the latter working; at best, he felt a slight nice tingle, but most of the time he stopped feeling anything unless Roxas took too much. It wasn't really pleasant or unpleasant, but it was sure as hell better than first being bitten.

Not all vampires were attractive. Vexen was a good example of that, but Axel smiled as he mused the thought absently. Roxas was attractive; a little young, maybe, but that was partly a facade. Roxas had been around for a hundred years at least, but he still acted like such a kid sometimes. It was funny, endearing in a way. He was young as far as vampires went, apparently...

"Ow!" He yelped when Roxas accidentally bit him again. The blonde drew back with a gasp, looking at him worriedly.

"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!" He hastened to apologize, but Axel's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"It's fine. I know it was an accident." He saw, thankfully, that Roxas's eyes were back to full blueness. That was a sign that his hunger was dissipating. "Do you, uh, need more?" Axel asked as he raised a hand to his neck, feeling a small trail of blood trickle underneath his palm.

"No, I should be fine." Roxas' eyes followed the trail of blood back up to Axel's hand, and he swallowed dryly, a nervous look overtaking his features. "But...can I help you clean up?"

With a sigh, Axel removed his hand. Roxas smiled sheepishly and bent forward, lapping at the wounds he had made and cleaning up the blood before it could stain his master's shirt. Somehow, even though he wasn't capable of it, being dead and all, Roxas seemed like he was blushing in Axel's opinion. He just had this look that was so sweet and bashful, and the redhead pictured the blush in his mind. If Roxas had just been another guy like him, a lively flush to his skin and a warm, smooth, even sweaty hand for him to hold...

The blonde finished and got off his lap, looking at the floor sadly. Axel winced, remembering conveniently too late that they shared a mental connection. This pact thing was more complicated than it seemed at first glance.

"Would it be easier to love me if I was alive?" the boy asked sadly. Even though he couldn't cry tears, Roxas was feeling pain. Axel could sense it, and he hated that he'd been the one to cause it.

He stood from his chair and wrapped Roxas in a gentle embrace.

"Roxas, I like you for who you are. You are the way you are and you are here, and that's all that matters to me."

"But you still don't love me," he said simply. Most vampires didn't make pacts with humans, preferring to pair up with their own kind and be free of restriction, but Roxas desperately wanted to love the man he had pledged himself to. He'd hoped that Axel would warm to him, but it didn't seem like it most times. "How can I get you to love me?"

Axel bit his lip for a moment. "Roxas, it takes time. We haven't known each other long, and I'm still adjusting to the whole 'vampire' thing. But I do care for you," he said honestly, squeezing the blonde tighter in his arms. "I don't regret our pact. I look forward to spend all the time we have now getting to know you."

The young vampire looked up at him, doubtfully at first, then hopefully.

"You mean it?"

Axel smiled and kissed his forehead, ignoring the almost too cool skin.

"From the bottom of my heart, Roxy."


	37. Heartless

This is the third drabble I've written and posted in the last 24 hours. I wouldn't call this a songfic, but it's themed after Kanye West's song "Heartless." I thought the heartless motif fit with them (cuz, you know, Kingdom Hearts has heartless), and wrote another troubled relationship. Written after two all-nighters, a couple scattered drabbles, and having written a massive lit review O.o

2/26/13

* * *

><p>In the night, I hear them talk the coldest story ever told<p>

Somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul

To a boy so heartless...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"It's about time you left him. None of us really knew what you saw in him."

Roxas sighed, shoving the clothes he'd just folded neatly into his suitcase.

"You know, Sora, this is hard enough for me as it is. Could you at least, you know, help?"

The brunet stretched on his bed, picking up a copy of Entertainment Weekly and flipping through it. "Hey, I said I'd come along and support you. I'm here as your rock."

The younger twin rolled his eyes and continued packing until he couldn't find anything else of his in the bedroom. Surveying it, Roxas felt a few tears come to his eyes. This house, this room, everything here held so many memories for him, good and bad. Now that his stuff was packed up, it felt empty and cold.

"I hope Axel will be alright..."

Sora scoffed, not looking up from his reading. "Why do you still care about that bum?"

"Because," he said softly, more to himself than his brother. In his heart, he still loved Axel. He wanted them to be happy together, but it just wouldn't work. They were bad for each other.

Axel was a bit of a narcissist, egotistical and somewhat emotionally jaded. Roxas knew that he could be clingy and needy, which was too much for some people, but his boyfriend seemed put off and bitter about it and he just wasn't meeting Roxas's needs. The blonde felt bad, but he knew what he needed. Too bad, because if he could have made it work, he would have...

Roxas sent Sora to the car with a few boxes, halting his brother's grumbling arguments with, "Hey, you promised to help me. I need your help now, oh sturdy rock."

The brunet stuck his tongue out at him, but began loading up the car anyway. They were just putting the last box in the trunk when Axel's red Chevrolet pulled up into the driveway behind them, blocking their exit. Roxas cringed a little, knowing he was going to have to talk to his ex boyfriend again. Sora patted his shoulder.

"I'll wait in the car. Don't worry, I'm texting Riku. If Axel tries to start something, we'll have your back."

With a hesitant smile, Roxas thanked him, walking up to the red car as the driver's door popped open and Axel slid out.

"So...you're really going?"

The blonde bit his lip slightly, nodding. "I'm moving in with my brother until I can get a place of my own."

"Do you have to hurry off?" Axel asked sadly, and Roxas was taken aback by the almost pleading tone of voice.

"Well, what would you have me do?"

"Stay," the redhead begged softly. "I know things've been bad, but we can work it out. You don't have to do this."

Still surprised, the boy tried to mask his sudden, oncoming turmoil at leaving.

"I do, Axel. I love you, really I do, but I can't live with this. This on again, off again, hot and cold bullshit. First we're not speaking, then we call each other up at 3 A.M. and make up. We fight again and again and I'm tired of it."

"I am too." He could tell Axel was biting back some retort against him. But he wasn't trying to criticize Axel, just their relationship. It was both their faults.

Axel grabbed him by the shoulders. His grip was tight but not painful.

"I'm tired of it too, Roxas. So let's work on it together. Please..." The blonde almost broke at his plea. "I love you."

Realizing then that tears were streaming down his cheeks, the boy reached up and wiped them away with a shaky sigh.

"I love you too. But I can't do this. I hate getting jealous when I see you with some guy or girl. I'm tired of whining and stressing and driving my friends crazy, when they've been telling me all along that I need to leave."

Axel frowned. "Who told you to leave? Why?"

"It's not important now. But I have to go, Axel." Roxas stood up on his tip-toes and pressed a quick, sweet kiss to his ex's unsuspecting mouth. "Maybe...Maybe we can try again soon. But not now. I think we need some time apart." He turned and walked back to his car, seeing Sora playing on his phone in shotgun. "Move your car so we can go."

"You're breaking me, Roxas. How could you be so heartless?"

Roxa cringed, his fingers curling like a fist around the door handle. He wanted to turn and snap back as Axel, bring up all the times when Axel had hurt him. How many times had it been now? How often did Axel spit on his feelings and barely bother to give a shit?

With masterful self control, he let the tension flow from his back, shoulders, and jaw, and glanced back narrowly at upset green eyes.

"I'm no more or less heartless than you. Now move your damn car already."

Axel looked angry, but didn't say anything more. He jerked his car noisily onto the street, allowing Roxas to back out just as Riku pulled up in his own car, waving at Sora. Roxas rolled down the window as Axel looked down and away, glaring at the curb.

"Goodbye Axel..." He felt a little hurt when the redhead just kept looking away. "We'll talk later, okay?" Maybe when their tempers had cooled and they'd spent some time apart.

"...Fine."

"I love you."

Axel scoffed softly, though Roxas heard it clearly enough. "Yeah, whatever."

As the blonde drove off, he saw Axel in his rear view mirror, a genuine sad and hurt look morphing on his face. For a second, his heart panged, and his foot hovered over the brake...

No. He wouldn't be manipulated. This was the right thing, and they were both going to have to move on. It was a difficult first step for the both of them, but Roxas knew he had to do it. Change was scary, but without it nothing would ever get done, or better. He only hoped Axel would understand.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In the night, I hear them talk the coldest story ever told

Somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul

To a boy so heartless...


	38. Lone Wolf

He was drinking from the pond when he sensed it.

As Axel raised his head, his ears flicked forward and his lips curled back, revealing sharp, bared teeth.

Another wolf was in his territory.

He sniffed the air and let loose a low, rumbling growl.

Not one, but two wolves were in his territory. He vaguely wondered if they were rogues like him.

It wouldn't matter if they were. Many wolves had begun abandoning their packs, finding small territories for themselves. Ever since humans had started encroaching on their lands and hunting them down, wolves had had to split into smaller groups or wander alone to avoid being seen. Some even donned human illusions and walked among their destroyers, for reasons that were lost on Axel. To him, it was filthy and wrong to pose as those horrible creatures. He would sooner die than throw away his pride.

Nevertheless, more and more humans had been passing through his territory recently, and he'd be forced to let his markings fade and disappear, lest the humans' mutts find his scent and track him down. These new wolves might not know that this area was his, but that was less of a worry.

What truly made him worry was the scent of blood, which was far more potent than anything his kin could produce.

_'Idiots.' _He needed to stop the scent of wolf blood before it got him killed.

Axel raced toward the scent, wrinkling his nose as it grew stronger. Fortunately he smelled no humans or those weaker, lesser wolves they brought with them, but they could appear at any time. If he needed to leave his territory, he would do it, but he preferred not to. It was cozy enough for him, if a bit lonely.

Entering the clearing, he let out a warning growl, arching his tail just slightly as the fur on his haunches raised. A gray male wolf looked back at him challengingly, his teeth dripping blood onto the brown, dying grass.

_'What are you doing?' _Axel snarled. _'Are you trying to summon the humans here?'_

'The old grey wolf snorted. _'My name is Xehanort. I have come a great distance. I was passing through, looking for food, when I can across this little whelp.' _His head gestured to a huddled, furry form just behind him and to the side, and Axel's eyes widened. A young male wolf with tan, almost white fur lay on the ground whimpering, curled into a ball. His fur was littered with bloody gashes.

_'I found no food here, and this pup will soon be dead anyway, so I decided to eat him,' _the wolf continued, letting his ears pull back and opening his jaw wide. _'Got a problem with that?'_

Axel snarled. That was a taboo for many packs. A wolf could be killed by another in battle, but to eat the flesh of your own kind...

Even humans frowned upon that.

_'I have a problem with you being in my territory, hunting my food, and drawing the humans' attention here.' _Axel growled back. For a moment they paced, circling, regarding the challenge across from them. Axel saw that his opponent was slightly larger, but he was old, and thin and scraggly from starvation. The red wolf was hungry himself, but younger and far less weak. Hopefully, that would even the odds.

In another time, this old one might have been his alpha, his leader. But Axel was born a leader too, and he refused to back down.

Out of the corner of his eye, Axel glanced at the other wolf in the clearing. The tan wolf watched them both worriedly, clearly spooked. Fear spiked the pressure in his system, making the blood pump faster. The red wolf could smell it. The brat was going to make himself bleed to death if he didn't relax.

He was small too. Axel couldn't be sure of his age at the moment, but he did look like a pup.

Without warning, Xehanort let out a menacing bark and charged him, leaping into the air. Axel met the other before he touched the ground, rolling them in the dirt when they landed, pouncing and tackling the wolf as he tried to scratch and bite his neck. They struggled for a few minutes, and Axel earned a few bruises and scratches, but finally he bit back, hard, and the older wolf whined and yelped. Satisfied that he'd made a point, Axel backed off to let him get up.

_'Now leave. It's your own fault if the humans spot you.'_

The grey growled, then yelped as Axel snapped at his haunches. He fled into the trees with his tail between his legs.

Panting, Axel turned slowly and regarded the still cowering tan wolf. He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, approaching the younger wolf carefully.

_'Don't be __afraid. I mean you no harm.' _At this, the other wolf uncurled from a ball and took a cautious, submissive position. Taking in his beaten form, Axel saw that, in addition to his torn flesh and fur, the wolf's back right paw was trapped in some small but formidable human trap.

Axel nuzzled the younger wolf's muzzle with his own, an easy enough greeting despite their obvious gap in status. The tan wolf whimpered, but held still, letting the red wolf sniff him and begin to clean his wounds.

_'Why are you helping me?' _he asked, kicking out slightly with the trapped leg and yowling when the metal clamped down harder into his flesh. _'I'm doomed. I can't escape.'_

Axel said nothing as he moved to study the device. He recalled seeing bears and larger animals wander into such traps. This one was fairly old, he judged from the rust and the slight creak that met his ears when it moved.

_'There should be something to release it...'_

He spied a small piece of metal that seemed loose and stepped on it. The tan wolf gasped as the trap snapped open, releasing him, and he stumbled out quickly as Axel let it snap shut again.

_'How did you know?' _The younger wolf was careful to keep his posture low, surrendering despite his obvious weakness.

_'I have seen my share of traps, especially now that the humans are expanding again.' _He spat his disgust on the ground. _'I never have someone to help me, as you did today, pup.'_

_'Hey! I'm not a pup!' _the tan wolf yipped indignantly, shrinking back when Axel gave a warning growl.

_'Careful where you step, little one. Now, why are you in my territory?'_

The other wolf looked down sadly.

_'My name is Roxas. I came from a small pack living in the woods down south. Humans set fire to our woods. I am the only one who escaped.' _Axel nodded as he paused for a moment, gathering himself.

_'I've been traveling for a month looking for a new home. I couldn't hunt because everywhere I smelled food, there were humans around. I was passing through here when that other wolf attacked me. He chased me up toward the mountain and I got caught before I could lose him. He would have killed me if not for you.' _Roxas bowed his head. _'Thank you...?'_

_'Axel,' _he replied simply.

_'Axel. I am in your debt. Anything you ask of me, I will gladly do.'_

The red wolf looked away for a moment, thinking. He readily empathized with the younger wolf. He had also lost family and friends because of human tyranny. His entire pack was slaughtered by a lone hunter and his dog, on some hell-bent mission to eradicate his kind from the planet once and for all.

Axel knew not the source of his anger, but he felt his own anger in retaliation. Why could they not live in peace? Why could the humans never leave them alone?

Perhaps it was this sense of kinship he felt with the tan wolf. Perhaps it was his loneliness and solitude that had begun to wear away at him. Roxas was young, lively and attractive. He was lower in rank, but seemed content with that.

Axel did not know precisely why, but his instincts told him what he wanted was right. He wanted Roxas to be his mate.

_'You are wounded and weary. I have a cave up closer to the mountain where you can rest and recover.'_

_'Really?'_ The young wolf looked nervous. 'You_ mean...I can stay with you?'_

_'You owe me a debt, do you not?'_ Roxas nodded. 'You_ tell me that you are alone and have no where to go. I am staying here until the humans force me to leave. At times, it can be very...quiet. I...I could use some company...'_

Roxas looked at him blankly for a moment, then seemed to understand. He nuzzled the red wolf gently, finding that he liked the other's scent.

_'Okay.'_

For the first time in years, Axel invited another wolf into his domain. He helped Roxas limp home and nursed his injuries, and that night the two of them curled up in the corner of the cave, keeping one another protected from the cold wind.

No one could be a lone wolf forever.


	39. The Epic Rescue!

"If anyone here has a reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I object!"

Everyone in the church stood at once, their murmurs of displeasure and confusion creating an echoing din that rose all the way up to the high ceilings. Where had that voice come from? No person came forward from the audience.

Axel turned to look at his bride blankly, trying to mask the hopeful look in his eye before he glanced around the room. Larxene sneered and jerked his arm, forcing him to stand closer to her.

"Wipe that look off your face," she hissed, digging her nails into his arm.

"Get your hands off him!" the voice echoed again, so loud that several people covered their ears.

The priest adjusted his glasses and looked around.

"Who said that? If you have a qualm, step forward!" Only a pregnant pause followed, as the crowd neither moved nor spoke. "Well? Do you have one?"

"I do!"

The crowd looked up to the rafters high above and saw a shadowy figure watching them from the beams.

"You there! Come down and speak quickly! Why do you interrupt this blessed union?"

"Because it is false!" he replied loudly, causing another stir of murmurs to rise up from the crowd.

Suddenly the figure was swinging down on a rope. He was swinging so fast that no one could get a clear look at him, but the guards were readying their arrows for a clear shot.

Axel saw all of this and rushed forward to help. He pushed his bride out of the way as the figure slammed into him hard, sending them both flying back and hitting one of the pews before crumbling to the ground.

"Ow..."

"Axel? Axel, are you okay?!"

Axel creaked his eyes open, feeling a deep, throbbing pain in his spine where he'd hit the floor. A disheveled blonde with familiar blue eyes was straddling him awkwardly, looking worried.

"Hey Roxas...Yeah, I think so." He tried to sit up a little, only to fall back down. "Great entrance there, by the way..."

Roxas chuckled breathlessly.

"Sorry. I was aiming for Larxene."

Still hurt but too relieved to be angry, the man just laughed back. "I know."

Axel pulled him in for a deep kiss, ignoring the shocked gasps and the enraged shriek from his fiancé. Roxas pressed back into his embrace eagerly, wrapping his arms around the man's neck and moaning loudly.

The blonde pulled back first, his eyes hazy and warm.

"Axel...God, I've missed you so much..."

"And I missed you." Axel's smile faltered then, as he remembered the day he had waited for Roxas. "Where have you been? That day we were going to leave, you never came..."

Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off as a group of guards approached, drawing their swords.

"What is the meaning of this?" the priest snapped, glaring as the two sat up and faced him, still somewhat entangled in each other's arms. "Sire, you are betrothed to Princess Larxene!"

"Perhaps, but no one ever asked me if I wanted to be." Axel said firmly, helping the smaller man to his feet. He wrapped his arms protectively around the blonde and held him close. "I don't love her. I love Roxas. Roxas was always the one."

"WHAT?!" his bride shrieked.

Scratching the back of his head, Axel grimaced.

"I'm sorry, Larxene, but it's true. I was forced to accept your hand." He then straightened his shoulders and took on a determined look. "But I can't go against my heart, and my heart tells me that I am his and his alone."

Larxene's face was almost purple. She looked like she was holding back a stream of curses, her eyes glaring daggers at Axel and even more sharply at Roxas. The redhead watched, confused, as the younger man stepped forward, and he and Larxene stared each other down.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance!" she finally snarled. Roxas only smirked.

"Yeah, you should have." He looked back at Axel to find slow realization dawning on his features. "Nothing can keep me from Axel. Not now or ever."

The priest then cleared his throat, speaking more diplomatically.

"Your Highness, despite what you may feel, remember that you have a duty to your kingdom. Furthermore, this boy is a commoner and a thief. He is wanted for murder."

The crowd looked at Roxas, surprise, horror, and disgust in their eyes.

"I was framed! I never murdered anyone!"

Just as he spoke, an arrow fired. Axel cried out, rushing forward to shield him, but Roxas was ready. He spun and caught the arrow before it could embed itself deep in his chest.

"Nice try."

Axel looked at the guards that surrounded them and barked a command.

"Listen well. Roxas is under my protection. Anyone else who tries to shoot him will be executed."

"You don't have that authority! This is my land!" Larxene shouted. "Guards, kill that brat!"

All at once, the wedding was falling apart. The guards moved forward, poised to strike, as the blonde would-be thief turned back to Axel. Roxas wrapped an arm around his waist, tugging on the rope with his other hand to make sure it was taut and sturdy. Some of the guards who remained in position were aiming arrows at them, when the priest ran forward, practically tripping on his robes.

"Whatever you do, do not hit the prince!" He grabbed a man's arm and pulled, making the arrow miss the escaping duo. "Idiot! If he's injured, it'll be war!"

Before anyone could stop them, they were running. Just before they reached the pews, Roxas curled his legs up as Axel pushed off from the ground, and they sailed back into the air, the sound of gasps, screams, and rushing air in their ears. They spun round and round, landing safely behind the pews and running for the exit. Axel laughed wildly, taking his lover's hand as they fled.

"What now?" The pounding of heavy footsteps was growing louder. The guards had given chase and weren't far behind them, along with the few who'd been positioned outside of the cathedral. The two men ran into the street, pausing only a minute before Roxas pointed.

"There!" They headed for the adjacent stables, where the grooms were still tending to the guests' horses. One dark-haired man was holding a brown mare, still bridled, while another man with lighter brown hair brushed her flank with hard, bristled brush.

Utterly surprising the grooms, Roxas hopped up on the horse's bare back, gripping her mane as Axel followed suit. The redhead looked at the confused and shocked men and smiled kindly.

"We will need to borrow this horse." He gestured for the man to give him the reins. "If you please..."

Nodding shakily, the young man passed reins back, and Axel took them in one hand as he slipped the other around Roxas.

"Your call, Roxy."

The blonde nodded, taking the reins as Axel hugged him tightly. Just as he spurred the mare forward, the guards caught up with them. Roxas urged her toward the fenced pasture, galloping across the field and easily outrunning the men on foot. Axel squeezed his legs as tight as he could, clinging to the horse's back as she turned sharply and ran further down the length of the fence.

"They'll be blocking the gate!" he yelled, loud enough to be heard over the wind. "What do we do now?"

Roxas glanced around the pasture quickly, as he turned to avoid running into another section of guards. They were quickly flooding the field, but until they caught the horse or she came to a stop on her own, the two were safe. Axel was shielding him so that the guards wouldn't have a clear shot if they did try to shoot, but the blonde didn't think they would dare.

Spying a low bar on the fence, Roxas steered the horse that way. Just as it looked like they were going to have to halt, the man dug his heels in and spurred the horse into a jump. She sailed over the fence, barely nicking the top beam with her back hoof, and carried them away from the angered soldiers shouting in the pasture.

After a few minutes, Roxas slowed the horse to a canter and headed toward the coast.

"There is a ship hidden in the harbor that's waiting to smuggle us away," he said, glancing nervously back at Axel. "That is, if you're sure this is what you want."

Axel leaned forward and hugged his lover even more tightly, kissing his cheek.

"I've never been more sure. I love you, Roxas."

The blonde blushed and smiled, returning his attention to the road. It was love. He knew in his heart they were meant to be together.

And so they were, forever after.


	40. Panels

After some thought, the sequel to Chapter 34 and Roxas's ever-growing arsenal of convention horror stories. More fangirls, more headaches, and maybe Roxas will come out of the closet like he's supposed to XD 3/5/13

* * *

><p>Roxas was taking a slightly sketchy detour through the hotel when he felt a presence behind him.<p>

"Roxas?"

He blinked, pausing for a moment before groaning. He'd been expecting Axel until he heard the too high voice. Had the fangirls found him already?

"Yes..." he ground out, barely hiding the dread in his voice.

"Does this smell like chloroform to you?"

"Huh?" Before he could turn around, a cloth-draped hand clamped over his nose and mouth and a weird, sweet smell overtook his senses. Roxas began struggling as another set of hands grabbed his wrists and forced them behind his back, and he heard what sounded like heavy duct tape being torn. Before he could get a look at his attackers (he knew there had to be two at least), his vision swam and faded to black...

When he woke up, he was in a dark room, wrists, ankles, and chest taped to an uncomfortable wooden chair.

"What's going on?" the blonde shouted, straining against his bonds and cursing when they refused to budge. "Where am I?"

"Somewhere safe..."

Roxas looked up as a chubby brunet with wavy hair stepped out of the shadows, flanked by two other girls whose faces he couldn't see. They were all wearing ill-fitting Organization robes, cut off just above the ankles where they exposed ratty sneakers.

"What do you want?" he snarled, trying and failing to kick himself free. If it was one more fangirl demanding he and Axel make whoopee for their creepy pictures, he was going to a choke a bi-

"To protect you," the girl responded. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Staerex. My associates are Xenaj," she indicated the hooded girl on her right, then her left," and Klexly. More of us would have come, but there's a big homestuck panel going on and, well, you know how it is. "

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Don't care. But you're protecting me from...?"

Staerex's eyes narrowed. "From those vulgar, inane fans. The ones who think you and Axel are totally a couple in the games."

Roxas blinked, confused for a moment.

"So...you're not with them?" He was half relieved, half horrified that the het fans were just as crazy, if not more so. Non of the yaoi girls had gone as far as kidnapping him...yet...

Although, his and Axel's socks had been going missing frequently since they checked in...

"No!" she snapped, drawing back in revulsion. "Eww! We would never condone such a disgusting thing!" Her two henchwomen hissed and crossed themselves in perfect unison.

"Why do I need protection?" he asked, honestly curious now.

"Because those _yaoi _perverts are getting out of hand." She spat the y word like it was poison. "They can't behave this way at a con and get away with it."

"Finally! Someone who gets it!" Despite his predicament, Roxas was relieved. Maybe with these girls (still creepy albeit less so than the yaoi fans) working as his bodyguards, he could finally enjoy the con the way he wanted. Uninterrupted, free to wander and chill on his own without people swarming him for pictures...

"It's one thing if it were Namine-"

"Or Xion!" Xenaj chimed in. Staerex frowned, but nodded.

"Yes, or Xion, or even Kairi, but kissing Axel!" She scoffed. "It's like they have no standards of decency! That would just be unthinkable!"

Roxas felt his cheeks flush a little bit. He never got why the yaoi girls were so crazy about it, but then, he didn't get why others were so _against _it either. What did it matter who he was paired with?

"What would be so wrong with kissing Axel?" he asked then. She looked down at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Well, first, you two aren't a couple. There is no basis at all in the games."

"But if we were, would it be gross?" he demanded, suddenly looking angry.

Staerex gaped at him.

"Come again?"

"If there was a foundation for the pairing, what would be so wrong with it?"

"Well...Nothing, I guess."

"So it wouldn't be about it being a gay relationship?"

"What?! No!" she replied, a little too quickly. "No, it's not a problem! Right, girls?" The two beside her looked at each other and hesitantly nodded. Staerex laughed nervously. "See? We're not haters...But I mean, no homo, right?"

Just then, there was a cry from outside the room. It wasn't one of pain or surprise, but a collective, loud "squee" just before the door slammed open, flooding the room with light. Roxas shut his eyes against the bright light quickly, and the girls turned and gasped.

"Axel!"

The redhead grinned, raising his chakrams into a fighting stance as the doors slowly closed behind him with a soft thud.

"I came here for my partner."

Too fast for them to see, he dashed around the stunned fans, the breeze throwing back the two girls' hoods. He slipped behind Roxas and cut the tape holding him to the chair. The blonde sighed and got to his feet, rubbing his reddened wrists.

"About time," Roxas grumbled, crouching as his signature keyblades sparked into being in his hands.

"Hey, I almost didn't come at all! I was just gonna chill up in the room. Not like there are any good panels tonight."

"The Homestuck one is pretty good!" Klexly shouted. Axe just looked at her blankly, but before she could explain, her leader let out an angry shriek.

"How did you find us?" Staerex demanded, drawing her boken from the make-shift sheath strapped to her waist.

Axel shrugged. "Some guys said they saw a bunch of weird girls drag a body in here." He hitched his thumb back towards the door. "By the way, the guys setting up for next panel will be in here in, like, five minutes, so you might want to clear out."

"Why are you fighting us?" she shouted, looking purposefully at Roxas. "We want to help you! To keep those sick freaks off your back! If you and Axel separate, it'll be even easier!"

The blonde glared back at her as he stepped closer to Axel.

"Those 'freaks' aren't all that weird...well, most of them at least," he conceded, raising his weapons as he and Axel circled around them, heading for the door. "No more so than you guys. And there could be a foundation for the pairing! Tetsuya Nomura even stated in multiple interviews that the pairings are completely up to the eyes of the fan: if you're a fan of RokuNami, fine! You have evidence. If you are a fan of Akuroku, fine! You have evidence of that, too."

"B-But-!"

"No, he's right," Axel said. Seems he'd finally grasped what was going on in this room before he showed up. "How you choose to celebrate a fandom is your choice. What's not cool is people getting all pissed off and fighting with each other, when they should be using those encounters to make new friends and talk about the game they mutually love."

Staerex lowered her head. "I..."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested." Together, Axel and Roxas left, banishing their weapons as they were once again crowded by screaming, giggling fans.

"Not more fangirls!" the blonde exclaimed, rubbing his forehead where a sizable migraine had just formed. Once again they were assaulted with hugs, things to autograph, and noise. So much noise...

"ROXAS! AXEL! OH MY GOD!"

"GIVE HIM A KISS, AXEL! COME ON!"

Roxas blushed and muttered a few curses under his breath, but as usual, the redhead chuckled.

"Well, if you insist." He spun towards his friend, hands clamped onto either side of his face, and before the blonde could do more than stutter, Axel pulled him in for a deep kiss, just as the cameras flashed.

There were probably 1001 better ways to confess his feelings; more private, classy ways, certainly. Axel was well aware of his own lack of tact and forethought. It was fun to be immature sometimes.

Roxas refused to speak to him for a week after the incident. He didn't agree to date him until at least a month had passed. Axel was okay with this, because the look on his face after that kiss was worth it. And finally coming out as a 'couple' was even more worth it.

Even if Roxas punched him every time he came across those pictures on the internet.


	41. Fairytale

An inconsequential little fairytale I made up in my head. Meh. 3/6/13

* * *

><p>Once upon a time, in a deep, ancient forest, there lived a witch. Not a terribly wicked or old one, but she had a temper and a certain knack for stubborn spells. A clever and inventive sprite, she was always creating new magicks, and she cast a spell on just about anyone she met.<p>

One day the witch left her cottage in search of herbs and mushrooms. While she was out, a boy stumbled upon her home. This was no ordinary boy, but a prince. On his way through the forest, his company had been ambushed and slaughtered; the prince, unarmed and untrained, had narrowly escaped with his life.

Having wandered for days, he was famished. Dropping a sack of gold coins on the table, he proceeded to eat all of the food in the cottage. He used the witch's well to draw water to drink and wash himself, then found a blanket and slept on the floor. He did not wish to offend his host by taking his or her bed, and he was so very tired that the hardness of the floor mattered very little. He only hoped this stranger would take pity on him, and perhaps help him return home.

At dusk, the witch returned. She was angry upon finding the boy on her floor and all of her food gone missing! In his weariness, the prince had left the coins sitting quite precariously on the table, and in no time the sack had fallen out of sight.

The boy tried to beg forgiveness, but she would not listen. In her anger, the witch cursed him with a terrible magic.

"For your foolish thievery, you will be punished!" she said. "I shall take your very will from you! When you go from this place, the first person you see shall steal your heart! If it be your mother, you will desire her! If it be sister or brother, you'll have no other! Your slavish devotion runs deep as the ocean, and never a tide shall sway it!"

Horrified, the young prince fled the cottage. He fled deep into the forest, deeper yet than most men dared to venture. The boy took shelter in a cave beside the mountain and wept for the loss of his home, his family, and his will to love. He dared not return home now, lest he become smitten with a cook, a soldier, or even his own mother. Or perhaps worse: if he should be betrothed, but unable to even try to love this person because the curse dictated that he loved another?

What shame he would bring to his family, and the prince could not bear a deep longing that would never relent.

So he lived in that cave, speaking only to the animals that lived nearby. They taught him how to hunt and fish, and how to protect himself from the elements. He was glad of it, for without their companionship, he would have surely gone mad. And to protect himself from the spell, the boy ripped a strip of fabric from his sleeve and wore it over his eyes at all times. He could see just enough through it to go about his life, but not enough to make out a face if he came across another person. But the hidden cave and deep woods almost assured he would see no one...

One night, as he sat huddled by the fire he had built, the prince heard a voice outside his little cave.

"Is someone there? Forgive me, but I am lost and weary. Could I come in for a while and rest?"

The boy was afraid, but he could not turn away from someone in need. He made sure to cover his eyes tightly before he invited the stranger in.

"Thank you for your kindness. My name is Axel, and I have come at the behest of the good king of this land."

The man was a forester, come from the local squire's property at the edge of the wood. Word had spread that the prince had gone missing, and may be dead or alive. Despite the former possibility, the king had offered a man's weight in gold to have his son returned home safely, and he had called upon his best men to scour the woods. They were to bring the boy home, or at worst, his body.

The boy shuddered and curled inward.

"Why do you cover your eyes?" Axel asked, moving closer and raising a hand to the prince's face. "Are you blind?"

The boy recoiled and moved away from him slightly. Royalty was not to be touched so casually, but he objected for another reason entirely.

"Yes," he replied hesitantly. "I lost my sight but a fortnight ago."

"I'm sorry. But why do you cover them then?" the man asked curiously. "Surely it does not matter now?"

The boy looked down sadly. "My eyes are ugly. No one must ever look at them."

The forester pressed no more. He asked if the boy had seen the prince, and the boy replied that he had not. They shared a bit of food and water and then each fell soundly asleep, curled beside the small but warm fire...

Over the next few days, the strange forester kept him company. The prince assumed, or rather hoped, that the man would leave, but he did not.

"Don't you have a prince to find?" he would ask, again and again, and Axel always replied that he did not. He refused to leave a blind boy to fend for himself, alone and defenseless deep in the forest. There was danger and magic to be found here. The man was as noble as any knight, and though he offered to guide the boy out of the forest, to bring him home with him, the boy refused.

Days passed, perhaps even weeks. Though he did not wish to admit it, the prince had begun to enjoy the man's company. He was often quiet and thoughtful, but when they spoke to one another, it was much more fulfilling than any words the prince had tried to exchange with the animals. He was kind, and a great help to have around; while he had learned much from the animals, he was still new to life in the forest.

What he did not know was that Axel knew that he was not truly blind. The prince's movements betrayed him; he moved too certainly, rarely uncertain or stumbling, for it to be true.

Still, he did not know that the boy was the prince. He had all but abandoned his quest by now.

"I only hope some other has found the prince and returned him," he remarked one day, gazing out into the trees with a look of worry.

The boy felt guilty, but he could only nod. His family would never accept his condition. And at home, he could not go about hiding his eyes forever. A life of seclusion and prayer would not spare him from the curse, unless he remained in the woods.

Soon all talk of the quest ceased, but Axel grew more and more curious about his eyes. They bathed and dressed together, so the eyes were the only part of the boy he had yet to see. It intrigued him, and sometimes he wondered why that was.

Why else would the boy hide them? Were they truly ugly?

"That cannot be so," he would say, "For there can be nothing ugly about you."

The boy was flattered and embarrassed. No one ever said such things to him, but Axel would comment as they worked side by side, remaking how beautiful he was and, therefore, how lovely his eyes must be. How could he say such things when he couldn't even see them? How could he be so sure?

The man began to plead with him every day. He begged and begged. "Show them to me. I must see them. Please."

"I cannot."

The boy would refuse, his resolve weaker every time. He hated impairing his own vision, and a part of him did wish to know this man better. Was he as handsome as he was kind? The boy could only faintly tell, and it was as maddening as the other asking questions.

But he could not relent. Despite his words, Axel would not love him. He would be disgusted and leave. The boy would drive him away, only to be lonely and miserable forever.

"They are not ugly, my friend. They cannot be. They are yours."

One night, as they lay sleeping by the dim fire, Axel stirred. He gazed across the ground to his companion, who hummed and shifted so softly in sleep, and smiled.

"I must know," he whispered, rising from his place and creeping over.

As he slipped the cloth away, the boy awoke with a start, instantly slapping a hand over his eyes before he could fully open them.

"No! What are you doing?" he cried, curling away as the man bent over him.

"Why do you hide them? I only wish to look at them for a moment!" he begged. "Let me see them just once, and I will never trouble you with this again! You may keep them covered forever, if you wish!"

The boy shook his head.

"What if I told you…that a witch has placed a curse on my eyes?" Axel paused, listening as his companion began to shake with beginning sobs. "I'm frightened. I don't want to hurt you, or be hurt by you."

Though he was a superstitious man and would have fled in terror at such news before, the man could not bring himself to be afraid or even angry. He helped the boy sit up and embraced him gently.

"If you are indeed bewitched, it matters not. I have already grown to love you." The prince gasped, shutting his eyes tight and going rigid as Axel removed his hands. He could not see it, but the redhead was staring at his closed eyes, his own serious and sincere. "I will not leave you, now or ever."

"I-I…love you…Axel."

The boy's eyes slowly opened, as the fear, doubt, and worry amassing inside him dissipated. He met hypnotizing green eyes in a heated gaze, his own gaze drowning deep within them.

Both men were consumed with one thought in that moment: that the person before them was more beautiful than they had ever seen.

The prince fell into his arms, awestruck at the mirrored devotion he found in Axel's face. This man had not been cursed, but had loved him earnestly, and still looked at him with such longing and love that it left him wordless, breathless. It was impossible.

"I am Prince Roxas."

Roxas kissed him, unable to bear his swelling emotions anymore. Their words could wait, but the longing inside him was painful. He needed this man, to feel his love and know that it was real. It couldn't just be magic...

But they drew apart and spoke at long last. The kingdom would not condone their union, and if they were discovered, Roxas would have to rule the kingdom and be married. Axel might be punished.

So together, they left the forest, traveling to new and faraway lands, happy to be bonded forever after.

And as for the witch...

She found the coins a year after the prince had left, and hastily performed a counter spell, just in case.

The prince never noticed, and he and his lover were all the happier for it.

The End


	42. Long Night

4/15/13

* * *

><p>Never upon waking had Axel felt so wretched. As his eyes slid open, the bright, flourescent lights stabbed through them, and he immediately winced, crushing them shut again. He didn't remember his room being this bright in the morning.<p>

Trying to move his left arm, he realized that it was strapped down. There was even a pinch as he struggled with it, and his bleary eyes opened slightly, registering a needle.

White walls, white sheets.

"What the hell?" he groaned miserably, shifting to try and sit up. "Where am I?"

"Destiny Hospital," a soft, tired voice replied. Axel turned to his right and saw a familiar blonde sitting in a chair beside his bed, looking away from him. "It was bad this time, Axel. You OD'd and they had to pump you stomach and feed you some charcoal shit."

Axel chuckled despite himself. "That explains the gross taste in my mouth."

The second the laugh escaped his lips, he knew he had made a mistake. Roxas's head snapped up, and there was incredulousness, betrayal in his deep blue eyes.

"You think this is _funny_, Axel? You nearly fucking kill yourself, and you think this is funny?!"

"No! No, of course I don't, Roxas! I was just-"

The blonde cut him off with a hard slap. The force of the blow jerked his head to the side, and his neck creaked painfully. Axel froze then, seeing his lover now standing, his chest heaving from the now definite anger radiating from his whole body. Roxas's eyes blazed as they bore into his.

"You know," he said, his voice surprisingly calm, "It isn't fucking funny to come home and find the man you love lying on the floor, choking on half a bottle of pills...How would _you _feel, Axel? Would you like to see me try to kill myself?"

The redhead just examined his lap. "No. It would tear me apart."

"Then why? How could you do that to yourself? To me?" Axel looked up as the questions became more desperate. He hated himself more than ever when he failed. He was already such a horrible boyfriend, and poor Roxas had to keep putting up with him.

Roxas was falling apart inside by the time he sat down again. He slumped lifelessly into the chair, pressing a hand over his eyes.

"Every time you pull this shit it eats me up inside! I don't know what to do, and even the shit I can do isn't enough!" The blonde lowered his hand and looked at Axel sadly. "It hurts, Axel. It hurts so much I... sometimes I wish I could die."

The older boy's eyes widened, and he used his free arm to pull his lover close, hugging him tight against his chest.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said, tears leaking from his eyes and sobs trapped in his throat. "All I do is make you sad, and even when I try to take that pain away, you bring me back. You stay with me, even though I'm not enough."

"But you are enough, Axel! Why can't you see that? Why can't you see how wonderful you are?"

"But I'm not!" he cried. "I'm horrible and selfish! I don't deserve your love!"

Roxas sniffled, wiping his eyes against the older boy's shirt. He didn't know what to do. Even before they dated, he knew Axel suffered from depression. The older boy was insecure and hypersensitive, always worried that people hated him or found him annoying. This wasn't the first time Axel had tried to kill himself.

'I wish I could make you understand,' he thought, hugging his lover so tight he thought he would burst. Little did he know that the redhead shared that sentiment.

"Please don't give up, baby," the blonde sobbed, looking up and touching his lover's cheek gently. "Think of all the people who love you. Not just me; Reno, Sora, Riku, Demyx, your mom and dad. Think of how sad they would be if you were gone."

Axel looked like he was going to argue, but his face screwed up and he started to sob again. Roxas held him in his arms, stroking his hair and whispering soothing words when he felt they were needed. It seemed like all he could do when Axel got like this.

"We love you so much, Axel. I love you. When you hurt like this, it hurts me. It makes me want to die too, because I'm failing you."

"Y-You a-a-aren't!" he sobbed back, practically gasping from crying so hard.

"Then why do you do it?" Roxas asked calmly, holding his composure.

"...I d-don't know. I just h-h-hate myself! I could b-be doing s-so much better!"

The blonde just rocked him for a while, letting him cry until he fell back asleep. Roxas laid him back down and tucked the covers around him, satisfied when the older boy no longer shivered. He felt so drained, physically, mentally, emotionally. He had cried so hard, waiting for the news. Was Axel still alive? How many times could he tempt fate before it actually killed him?

A soft sob escaped him, and Roxas slapped himself. He couldn't afford to break down.

Sometimes he really wished he didn't have to face this. He could see the appeal of death; a quick, easy fix. Not having to face your fears. It could be an attractive, but permanent option.

What kept him from considering it was his determination. He wouldn't be a coward. He would face his fears head on, even when they hurt so much.

Axel needed to be strong too. Without his strength, how could they possibly keep this going?

Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked out of the room, down to the cafeteria for a muffin and coffee. He wouldn't be able to sleep, but he just couldn't leave his lover either. But he had some thinking to do.

It was the start of another long, long night.


	43. Butterfly Wings

This is a long one I started a while ago. It will probably have multiple parts to it, but not sure. For now, enjoy.

4/15/13

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><p>In the time not so long ago, when fairies still roamed the land in vast numbers, there was one unspoken rule that every fairy was urged to follow. Do not meddle with man.<p>

This, by its very nature, spread into several smaller rules, depending on interpretation. For not all fairies are alike in mind.

Some would take it to mean do not be seen by man. Others would say do not engage with man in any fashion, verbally or otherwise. Do not steal from man, do not enter man's land, etc etc...

Even now, the fairies that remain live by this rule. As the forest trees grew scarce, they flocked together in safe numbers, retreating further and further into the earth to avoid the human threat. Fleeing would protect them for the time being. The rule would protect them.

Axel, a rather adventurous and impulsive little fellow, was not one for following most rules anyway.

Life was meant to be enjoyed to its fullest capacity, not spent living in cautious fear and silence. This particular fairy found himself quite fascinated with man and the complete deviation from the life he had always known. A life outside of nature, almost shielding itself from it. Against the wishes of the elders, he would watch the few in the forest with an almost worshiping fascination.

Fairy kin made their homes in the forest, from the forest, but did not greatly alter what they used. They would apologize for what they took, if anything, use it with care, and above all, worship nature, living in harmony with it.

Man, on the other hand, could change nature completely. They would not take a single tree and make it a house, but shave it down to the barest scrap and pile high more scraps of trees over it. Man held less respect and reverence of nature; not completely disregarding it, but not feeling the need to love it, care for it, and thank it for its part.

Humans had power. They could take what they wanted and never have to apologize. They had real spirit.

Such interesting beings they were. Axel did not see them as demons, unlike other fairies. He had heard so many stories, grown up with them, all warnings that had frightened the other children. But not Axel.

He wanted to explore their world.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There was a little town just outside the forest where Axel made his home. A quiet little place to any human ear, but to the little fairy it was loud and exciting. He watched from the shelter of the tree, expression awed, as the people bustled to and fro. They did not have wings like him, but mostly walked on their feet, or hopped on strange, two-wheeled devices that could carry them away. To his amazement, there were even large four-wheeled contraptions, monstrous things that the humans would climb inside in droves.

When the coast was clear, he fluttered down to one of the beasts and inspected it. It didn't appear to be a living thing, he noted, rapping his fist against the shiny, transparent part of it.

"How odd..." He began musing how the humans could have built such a thing. They must have greater powers than he imagined.

"I'll be back late tonight, so please don't wait up for dinner."

Startled, Axel looked up, seeing a large, male human approaching the beast. A slightly smaller woman followed him down the path, smiling softly.

"Of course. Be careful, dear."

The redheaded fairy shot off the thing in a flash. He returned to his spot on the branch of the tree, still marveling at the human's creation. The male turned to the female quickly, pressing his lips to her cheek, and she replied with a warm, worn smile.

For a moment, Axel forgot the contraption. He watched, confused, as the female reached out softly and turned her mate's head to the side. She repeated his gesture, and his tired look melted away into fondness.

Axel watched him then climb into the beast before it roared to life, making him jump. In it's fury, the giant thing growled and spluttered as it moved away from the humans' house, but the female seemed unafraid by its rage. She waved a hand to it as it disappeared down the path, and then turned to go back inside.

What was that strange thing?...Well, obviously humans used it to transport them, but why that beast in particular? Axel found himself wondering if there was a place that made them. Why were they given such thick, hard armor, if humans only needed to be transported from one place to another? Were there more dangerous creatures that they had to protect themselves from, as the fairies had to keep away from humans?

Putting aside the thought to explore later, the fairy took off from the branch, flying high above the cluster of dwellings.

Axel saw another female by one of the dwellings, grooming what he assumed to be her young. She straightened his clothes and the pack he carried on his back, before running her fingers through his hair. They fussed back and forth for a moment when a large yellow beast, even larger than the first he had seen, stopped with a high pitched whine in front of their home. The woman placed her lips to the boy's cheek, then nudged him over to the contraption. Axel saw him hesitate a moment before disappearing into the thing. In moments, it groaned and set off down the path, as the mother waved.

What a curious human trait, Axel thought to himself. Did the lips give humans power?

Fairies could share their essence, their very magic, by grasping both hands purposefully. Mates often shared magic as a sign of trust, which was highly valued in these uncertain times. Perhaps it was similar for the humans?

Touching his own lips, the redheaded fairy frowned. His didn't feel like anything special. He wanted to see human magic for himself.

Suddenly, there was a screech from above. Axel jumped when he saw the shadow of bird looming over him, claws outstretched as it dove for him.

Cursing, he shot off with a powerful beat of his wings.

The bird followed close behind, readjusting itself as he flew higher. Diving would give the bird more speed and result in him being breakfast in no time, so he flew into the sky, zigzagging to trip the thing up. A beak came close, snapping just behind his left wing, but he banked a hard left, narrowly escaping.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted back angrily. He reached into his pocket and drew out a few tiny nut shavings, simply tossing them behind him. He had hoped to blind the bird for a moment and flee, but it swallowed most of the nut shavings as its beak prepared to snap down on him again.

Taking a chance, he dove, momentarily confusing the bird. He made for the bush behind a small human dwelling, his wings beating so hard he thought they might catch fire. He wasn't going to make it. Not a chance. The thing was gaining on him, he could tell. The screeching echoed loudly in his ears, creating a sharp, stinging pain. Any minute now, and it would have him in its claws.

And then it cried out again, but this time the sound was different. The bird wasn't shrieking in the thrill of the chase, but in pain.

"Aw yeaah! I got it!"

Hitting the bush, Axel smacked the rough ground with a grunt. Gasping for breath, he looked out through a gap in the leaves, only to see the bird flapping away, one of its wings stiff and awkward.

"Oh man! Did you guys see that? That dumb bird didn't even know what hit it, ya know?"

Getting to his knees, Axel looked up and saw a few humans gathered near the bush. Two males and one female. The female with purple hair snorted.

"Lucky shot."

"Hey! That took serious skill! You wouldn't know cuz you're a girl!" the hyper male shouted back at her, waving his fist. The other hand was clenched around a slingshot, Axel saw. He knew of those. Fairy boys loved to play with them all the time, but they were made cheaply and didn't do any real damage.

The first male crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"It's boring hanging out here. I'm going to go play Call of Duty." He turned and walked away, leaving the other male stunned. The quiet female followed after him, going into the dwelling and shutting the door behind her.

"Hey! Guys! Seifer, wait up, man!" The last one ran off, and Axel breathed a pained sigh of relief. His chest was pounding painfully, and his wings were tired. He was sure he'd be seeing a bruise on his arm soon. The slam into the earth had really done a number on him.

Wincing, the fairy felt at his back. Just below the wings, there was a little scrape from the bird's claws. Luckily it hadn't done much damage, or he would never have been able to get home.

The redhead grabbed a leaf that had been ripped from the bush when he flew through. Deeming it not harmful or poisonous, he pressed it to his back, cleaning up the skin as best he could. It would save him from being tracked by potential predators; the scent of the leaf was strong and would cover the scent of fresh blood.

With that done, he rose and stretched, testing his wings to make sure they were still alright. They shimmered a faint red in the morning light, speckled with shadows from the cover overhead. That had been a closer call than he cared to admit, but he knew better now. Such dangers were not unheard of in the forest, but with the thick foliage and less open air, the fairies did not find much trouble.

The larger world was a dangerous place.

Listening to the calm outside, Axel watched and waited. No humans appeared. Time slowly dragged on, and the sun moved into position overhead, and still there was no sign of anyone. The bird had probably given up, but Axel was determined to keep an ear out for the thing and its kin.

Finally venturing out, the redhead flew to the next human dwelling, sticking close to the walls. They were built up with some red material, hard, sturdy, and weatherproof. His red blended with that of the home, and he stayed hidden from the birds and other animals. Just below, he could see a creature glaring up at him with hunger. A large creature with blue-grey fur, whiskers, pointed teeth, and claws on its paws.

Thankful for his height, Axel turned his attention to the rest of the yard. It was closed off with a white, pointed barrier, the grass a vibrant and glorious green. A few loose weeds grew scattered by the garden, but otherwise it looked well-tended. The redhead grinned at that. The other fairies would be pleased to raise flowers half as healthy and vibrant. Magic could work wonders, but it was limited, and he had certainly never seen such vivid colors from any blossom before. Even the delicate white petals gleamed with liveliness. It was almost as if the garden was alive, its inhabitants swaying carelessly with the wind in a simple but beautiful dance.

A small human sat by the garden, a strange box-shaped item in his hand and strange white vines extending from his ears to another small, white box in his hand. He looked about the same age as the other humans Axel had seen, but small even for their kind.

His hair was the color of fading wheat, and eyes blue like a forest pool. They looked half-lidded, as if the boy were drifting off to sleep as he studied the box. His skin was faintly tanning, but he looked pale overall, as if he didn't see the sun much.

The creature below, once watching the fairy warily, trotted over to the human boy and curled up beside him, nuzzling his hand. Jolting a little, the boy roused and smiled, petting the animal softly on its head. Axel flew closer, curious, and could hear the beast rumbling low in its throat. What was that?

The human looked up at the sky then, releasing his book so that he could shield his eyes against the bright light. Axel quickly dove, hiding behind the leaf of a large, purple flower in the garden next to him. From his new hiding place, he saw the male shiver, blinking around for a moment as if confused.

"Zexion, did you feel that just now?"

The creature by his side cocked its head at him slightly, before hopping up and curling into a tighter ball in his lap. The weird unfolding box slid off and into the dirt, making the blonde wince.

"Careful, you silly cat. You'll bend the spine." He lifted it gently, dusting off the old hard cover with a sigh. "Oh well. I'm sure this old thing has seen worse."

Axel regarded the cat suspiciously, his wings fluttering in irritation. If he tried to sneak off, the thing might sense him; one eye closed, while another lazily rolled in his direction. As if uncaring, but somehow still alert. Perhaps the human would see him, if the fairy wasn't careful. He was stuck no matter what he chose to do.

Contemplating, Axel shooed away a lady bug crawling over his foot. In a second it took off, catching two pairs of eyes at the same time. The fairy didn't see that he'd been momentarily exposed, nor the disbelieving shake of the head from the human child only feet away.

"That was...no. No, it couldn't be."

The flower was suddenly pushed aside, and the sudden increase in light made him shield his eyes. The boy looked down at him with wide blue eyes.

"I can't believe it. A-Are you a fairy?"

Hesitantly, Axel nodded. He was ready to bolt in a second. This was a bad idea. He'd been caught by humans. His people would be in danger. _He _was in danger!

The boy looked from side to side, then back down to him. "Can you stay here a moment? Please, I won't hurt you. I just want to talk."

To the redhead's surprise, the human boy stood to full height. He was huge! One misstep and he could surely have crushed Axel.

But the first thing the boy did was pick up the cat, who had been watching him like a hawk. The boy looked back down at him and smiled.

"Don't worry about him. I'll put him inside where he can't bother you."

It squirmed a little in his arms, eyes still dilated and fixed on Axel, but the blonde just carried it over to the dwelling, his back turned so that the redhead couldn't see.

"In you go," he said, opening the side of the house and gently placing the cat inside. He then shut the contraption and walked back to the flower, half-surprised when he found the fairy had disappeared.

For a moment, he just stared at the plant, his eyes sad. He didn't see that Axel had hidden in the grass nearby. The redhead watched him warily, keeping his distance.

"I know I saw him..." he mumbled, sitting down in the grass and tracing the petals with his finger. He looked so sad that Axel felt his heart drop for a moment. He had kept his word; he hadn't harmed the fairy in any way, even when he could easily have done so.

Axel couldn't go back. It wasn't worth the risk.

Deciding he had seen enough for the time being, Axel snuck away through the shadow of the grass, keeping low to avoid being spotted by any more humans or animals.

Perhaps he would come back again...


	44. Lies and Vengeance

4/23/12

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><p>Axel stared down at his lover with cold, emotionless eyes, finger flexing around the trigger of his gun. He felt the cool metal against the skin of his index finger and longed to embrace it, but something was stopping him...<p>

"Come on, Axel. Do it."

He turned his head to the left and met Saix's equally cold gaze, ruined by the hint of a smirk on his lips. Why should he care so much? He was just the garbage man, after all.

Roxas looked up at him calmly, unshaken despite the obvious roughing up he'd been given.

"Before I shoot, I want to know the truth," the redhead said, more calmly than he felt. It took all of his resolve to keep from shaking. "Why did you do it?"

Roxas didn't look away or even change his face, save for the new look of sorrow in his eyes. It was too open.

"I can't give you a reason because there isn't an action to justify it. I haven't done anything, Axel."

"Lies!" he snapped, swinging the gun down and striking the other man. Roxas's head jerked to the side, but though his eyes watered at the edges he met Axel's gaze again, eyes boring straight into his soul.

"I confided in you! How the hell do you explain it getting all over the news, huh?!" His career was ruined, all because he'd made a mistake as a kid in dirt-poor, backwater town. It spread so quickly so soon. Who else could have told?

Those days were long behind him. He told that incident to Roxas in confidence that he wouldn't tell anyone. That he would love him regardless, and let it die. And Roxas had promised that.

The blonde shook his head. "I don't know."

"Lies!" He hit Roxas again and again, but the young man said nothing, bearing his beating in relative silence.

"Why did you do it?!" Axel demanded, fist clenching the collar of his shirt as he jerked the blonde off the floor and right up in his face. "I trusted you! I loved you, goddamn it!"

"Clearly you don't!" Roxas snapped suddenly, angry and almost hysterical. "You don't trust me at all, or you wouldn't be doing this! Axel, you're threatening me with a gun! This isn't trust!"

"I'll never be able to show my face again because of you!" he spat back, tossing Roxas unceremoniously to the floor. "You gave me no choice!"

"I haven't done anything. How many times do I have to say it?" The redhead saw his lover trembling a little now, tears spilling down his pale, bruised cheeks. "Please, Axel. I just want to go home. Can't we talk about this at home, without the gun?"

Axel looked at Saix, who remained mostly passive to the whole event. Then he looked back at Roxas.

"Things can't be that way anymore." He could feel tears gathering in his eyes, but he willed them away, pointing the gun at the blonde again. "The only thing I can do now is go back to hell and start over."

"This will all blow over. Just because this office fired you, it doesn't mean that-"

"No one is going to vote for a man with shady contacts and a gang record," Axel said simply, finger slipping past the handle of the gun. It hugged the trigger gently, not enough to release it but poised and ready to kill.

"Do I matter that little to you?" Roxas asked quietly, his voice low and heartbroken as he looked at the floor. Axel's heart constricted painfully.

"You were my everything."

The blonde looked up at him sadly, clearly not believing a word he said. But it didn't matter. Roxas had broken his heart first, and even his former love for the younger man couldn't stop him from doing this. If he didn't exact revenge, his gang would surely do something worse. Ruin him, hurt him, maybe even kill him. They wouldn't leave Roxas alone, even when he rejoined their ranks.

Organization 13 were loners, plain and simple. They needed nobody. They wanted nobody.

"Ax-"

Despite the shaking of his hand, he fired the shot, cutting off the blonde's words. Roxas's body hit the wall with a loud thump, sliding to the floor and slumping forward, motionless. He wasn't dead; the shot had missed his intended target, but Axel was sure he would bleed out in a matter of minutes.

As the rasping breaths began to die down, Saix clapped slowly, smirking at his old friend.

"Well done, Axel. I didn't think the cold-hearted killer was in you. Clearly I was mistaken."

The redhead frowned. "It wasn't..."

"Oh, but it was," his partner said smugly. "You managed to convince yourself that an innocent boy deserved to die. You didn't really believe he was guilty. You just needed an excuse to be rid of the last confining chains this whole society has given you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you really believe that I was only here to do a favor for you, old friend? That Xemnas would let you walk away so easily?" The blue-haired man shook his head. "You were a valued member when you were just a fifteen year old brat with no prospects. The group has grown since then, and we've been watching your progress eagerly. You proved your determination and your cunning. You managed to convince a whole country that you were an upstanding man of morals, and you finally managed to murder a target. Quite efficiently, I might add."

"A target..." Cold dread creeped up inside him at that word. Dropping the gun, the redhead stared blankly for a moment, then turned away, unable to look at him anymore.

The form of his lover lay still, finally silent.

"Don't worry about the deal. I got what I wanted after all," Saix chuckled, turning and walking out the door. "When you're finished with him, I'll dispose of the body. You can rest easy."

The door slammed shut behind him just as Axel sank to his knees.

After a moment, he crawled over to Roxas's body and turned him over, finding a pained, lifeless expression on that pale face he adored.

"Roxas..." The older man cradled him and wept into his soft, blonde curls. How else could he have let this happen?

He held the other man for what seemed like hours, wishing he could turn back time before he ever thought ill of his lover. Before he had placed that call to Saix and played right into the Organization's damn hands again.

Or maybe...maybe the Organization never _did _leave him.

Maybe he was always meant to be a monster.

Kissing Roxas's cheeks and forehead reverently, Axel lowered the blonde back to the floor, letting the last of his tears drip and fall away. He had made a choice and now he was stuck with it. There was no turning back now.

He lowered Roxas's eyelids gently, so that he looked peaceful, then got up and went to the door, opening it to find Saix smoking just outside, staring out the window of the rundown building.

"You can't do that in here," he said flatly. The other man rolled his eyes.

"Can and am." He took a long pull of the cigarette and let out a little grey puff of smoke, before looking back at Axel. "Ready to go now?"

"Yes." He looked back over his shoulder for a moment. "But I want to deal with the body."

Saix snorted, but didn't comment. He didn't need the extra cash. Xemnas would have what he wanted, and that was all that mattered.

Too bad Xemnas didn't know what he was bargaining for.

Axel chuckled to himself, catching Saix's quizzical eye for a moment. The boss would get a real handfull if he had anything to say about it.

_'I'm sorry, Roxas. So, so sorry...But I'll avenge you. I promise."_


	45. Trust You

4/27/12 This is the part two to chapter 19 "Trust Me." By popular demand of MoonLitSparklesofTwilight. Hope it satisfies :)

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><p>"Roxas, come back! Roxas!"<p>

The blonde kept walking briskly, refusing to acknowledge him. For a little guy, he was fast!

"Roxas, would you stop for a second?" Axel snapped, finally catching up and grabbing his wrist, making the boy jerk to a halt. Surprisingly, he didn't attempt to break free. He turned to face his boyfriend and glared. His free hand was wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve.

Slightly out of breath, the redhead wheezed. "Okay. Let's talk about this."

"What was that all about?" Roxas demanded, stepping closer and craning his neck up so that their gazes met. "Why the fuck would you put Demyx up to that?! What happened to us, huh?"

"I just wanted to know-"

"What? What could you possibly hope to gain with that?!" The blonde spat a little. "He tastes like soy milk and shrimp ramen, for cripes sake! Gross!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," his boyfriend said guiltily, scratching the back of his head. "It was a stupid move, okay? I get it now."

"Well, why did he do it? You can't tell me you're okay with him kissing me." True enough. He was kind of the jealous type, and yeah, it hadn't been fun to suggest Demyx to try and coax Roxas into cheating on him just to prove a point. This plan sounded less smart the more time he thought it over...

Not realizing he was spacing out, Axel jumped when fingers snapped in front of his face. The younger boy looked very irritated, frowning and placing his hands on his hips.

"You want the truth? Fine! The truth is I missed you!"

The blonde stared at him agog and he coughed, clearing his throat.

"Roxas, I... I was worried, okay? You've been so distant and busy lately. It seems like you don't want to spend time with me anymore. And then Larxene's been saying some stuff-"

"Larxene?" The younger boy's expression hardened again. "What are you getting at?"

Axel paused, unsure how to continue. He didn't want to offend his boyfriend, but the truth was the truth.

"Spit it out, Axel!

"She said...she said that you hooked up with someone on the art field trip." That was putting it mildly. In truth, the rumor was much more vulgar and extensive; that it hadn't just been one person, but several. Practically the whole school was laughing at Roxas today. How could he not have noticed?

Axel flinched then, waiting to be yelled at, punched, or kicked. But the shouting never came.

For the first time in years, Roxas was crying. His expression was still angry, but also hurt. The tears hadn't spilled yet, but they were close to falling.

Worried, Axel touched his cheek. "It isn't true. She's lying, right Rox?"

The blonde jerked away as if the touch burned. He took a few steps back for good measure, disbelief and hurt in his eyes.

"How could you?" he all but whispered, shaking his head. Axel growled in frustration.

"Roxas, I haven't talked to you in forever! I haven't seen you! I just thought-"

"That I'm a whore? Is that what you're saying?!"

"No!"

"Well it sure as hell sounds that way!" Roxas snapped, his hands balling into fists at his side. "You just asked me if I was a cheating whore!"

Axel caught his arm again before he could take off. "That's not what I meant!"

"Then you should choose you words more carefully!" The blonde scoffed, trying to wrench his arm free. "You know what, you can believe whatever the fuck you want. I don't have to defend myself, not for you or anyone else. We're through."

Cold dread kicked him in the stomach as the older boy pulled him closer, ignoring his struggles as he hugged him.

"Please don't say that. I love you."

"No you don't! You think I'm a whore!" he sobbed back, still fighting the arms that held him.

Axel cupped his face and kissed him gently, until he relaxed limply against his chest. It was weird seeing Roxas so emotional. Either he did do something and he was feeling guilty, or...

Axel knew he had made a mistake. Finding himself completely assured, he let the boy bury his head in his shoulder, calming himself.

"If I sincerely thought that, I would have been long gone by now."

Roxas cried silently into his chest for a while, and Axel held him. As bad as the situation started, he was happy they were spending time together again. It felt like so long since they had an honest heart to heart. And to be fair, he should have been more open in asking Roxas to spend time with him. He knew the boy was busy a lot and was used to being pretty independent, but Axel was a very physical guy and he needed time and tenderness to feel wanted and loved. It didn't always have to be sexy time, but that helped to be sure.

"I'm sorry I made Demyx test you." He said soothingly, stroking soft blonde hair and cringing when the bell sounded. Had it been that long? They had both missed their third classes thanks to this little spat. They probably needed to wrap this up before other students came out of class and go off to fourth period.

Lifting Roxas's face again, he said, "I'm sorry I doubted you."

Wiping his eyes quickly, Roxas nodded at the ground and hugged him one more time.

"I'm not stupid. I've heard those rumors. None of them were true and it pisses me off hearing them whispered everywhere...I didn't know I was guilty until proven innocent with you too."

"You aren't. I was just worried because you've been really distant, you know?"

Roxas sighed. "I didn't mean to be. I told you the art show was coming up fast. My sculpture isn't even halfway done and I've got another one I'm just doing for class that keeps coming apart. Plus I'm sucking in Calculus and U.S. Government, and my parents are really hounding me to bring my grades up. They keep saying I'll never get into Radiant Garden University at this rate."

Axel kissed his forehead, then stepped back to a careful distance as students began to file loudly out of the adjacent rooms. This was a pretty nice school, but being a same sex couple gave you a lot of weird looks, especially when you were being even slightly intimate. The redhead "rolled his eyes" internally. So it was fine when straight couples do it, but the second two gay guys want to suck face, they get crap for it?

"I'm sorry, babe. I can try to help you out in Cal if you want."

Roxas shook his head, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Nah. You suck at it anyway." The redhead feigned hurt as he laughed, but then Axel smiled too. "We can hang out soon, I promise. Just give me a little time...and trust me."

"I do. Can I still text you?"

Roxas sighed dramatically, the line of his lips morphing into a wide smile.

"Sure, just don't blow up my phone. I get enough of those texts from Mom." He turned to leave, then turned back quickly. "Oh, and if I don't answer a minute later, it's not because I'm mad at you or cheating on you. We clear?"

Axel blushed a little, seeing curious glances in his peripherals. "Crystal." He then watched Roxas walk away, sighing wistfully as he turned the corner and disappeared behind the lockers.

_'God...I am such a fucking girl.'_

Oh well. As long as he kept a level head, and Roxas put up with him, he'd be fine. He'd be more than fine, even.

With those thoughts, he made his way to class, popping a few thick pieces of gum in his mouth with purpose. If he sat in the back row, in the third seat from the left, he could pull off his neck brilliant idea with no hiccups. A certain bug-haired beyotch would be totally oblivious to the sticky blob of gum in her hair until way after it was too late.

Larxene would be shrieking for a while, but at least she'd get off Roxy's case. It'd pass the time a bit, until they could hang out again...


	46. Fit For A King

his is kind of a long one, but another fairytale-themed drabble. Enjoy.

5/12/13 ... Happy Mother's Day :)

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><p>Once upon a time, there lived a young king. He was handsome, tall and strong with long red hair and vibrant emerald eyes. Despite his youth, he was cunning, almost brilliant. He ruled his kingdom with a firm but kind hand, and the land and its people were very thankful.<p>

His only grief was loneliness. While he had a castle full of servants, he had few friends. There were those with whom he could discuss matters of state, but none whom he could discuss the little things with.

One day, a visiting noble brought a series of gifts before him.

"My Liege," he said, "I bring to you treasures from all across the globe, some of them magical. Pick one that you fancy, and it shall be yours."

The noble was a cool, ill-tempered man, known for his long, self-indulging expeditions and frivolous spending, but his estate was going under and all that could save him was royal favor. If parting with something precious could save him from shame and poverty, he would do it, albeit begrudgingly.

So today, he smiled widely and falsely as he displayed all that he had found in his travels.

The king smiled at the large collection of shields, jewels, silks, and mirrors set before him. There were many other things as well; furs and trinkets and instruments of all shapes, lengths, and sizes. All from different corners of the globe.

"Quite a collection," the king remarked, lifting things and admiring them in turn. Any would suit a royal such as himself, but he would not settle for anything less than the best. He looked for something simple, beautiful, and preferably rare.

Then something caught his eye. A large, round shape, obscured by a simple blue cloth. Curious, he inspected it, lifting the cover, only to find a little golden birdcage.

"What sort of bird is this?" he asked as he pulled the cloth aside and peered into the cage. At first, he thought it was a canary. It was small enough, for sure; the size of his hand, at most. But it looked different. He found himself instantly captivated by its delicate beauty. The bird wasn't yellow, but gold like the cage, maybe two shades lighter. It sat on its perch, undisturbed until he pulled the whole cloth away, revealing the entire enclosure.

The king was enchanted, but what struck him most were the impossibly blue eyes. No ordinary bird should have those eyes.

"I know not what specifically it is, My Liege. I caught the thing by the western river but a fortnight ago." The noble saw his delight at the tiny creature and smiled wider. "Do you fancy it, Sire?"

He nodded, regarding the bird as it, in turn, watched him nervously. It fluttered back toward the farthest side of the cage from him, pressing its back to the bars, and the king frowned. It could be just his imagination, but something in the bird's eyes and movements was...intelligent. Aware.

"There's something very strange about it," he remarked aloud, blinking when the bird shivered and curled further inward.

"You have a keen eye. That is no ordinary bird, but one that can speak in the tongues of men." The king looked at him, partially shocked and dubious. He had never heard of such an enchantment before, but it could be possible. Wild magic was very unpredictable; all sorts of spells, curses, and magical beings existed in the world...

"It sings as well." The man took the cage from him and shook it roughly, causing the bird to shriek and flutter in a frenzy. "Sing, bird," he demanded. "Show His Majesty the beauty of your voice."

The king took the cage back quickly, holding it steady. "There's no need to be so violent," he chided, before looking at the pitiful little creature with sympathy.

"Please don't be afraid. Would you sing for me? Just a short tune, if it pleases you. I'd like very much to hear your music."

The bird was clearly shaken, but it slowly began to sing. The king listened intently, and was instantly stunned to silence. It seemed a somber melody, sad and almost hopeless, but it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, and certainly nothing that a normal bird could have chirped.

Indeed, no earthly instruments, nor choir of angels, could weave such beauty together in song.

"I want him."

The noble obliged. He only warned his majesty not to trust the bird's words. It was a liar, and obviously desired to be free of its cage. If it could, it would manipulate the king to its own ends. Under no circumstances could the man ever let it out.

The king agreed without further comment, and after compensating the noble handsomely, he sent the man on his way.

From then on, the king kept the bird in a chamber near to his own, so that even if he was not in the room, he might hear the beautiful melodies it made. Everyday, he would come to the room and open the windows, letting the bird bask in the warm sun light. Then he would watch it and wait.

The bird sang sadly for him, lovely as ever, but it did not speak.

The king would feed it the highest quality seeds, and only offer it the freshest water. Still, the bird was sad or quiet.

So he bought a bigger cage, one that took up a whole desk. Now the bird was free to stretch its little wings and fly further than it could before.

Still, the bird sang sadly.

The king tried everything he could think of. For weeks, he tried coaxing the little bird into singing something else, something pleasant and happy, and he tried engaging it conversation, wondering how intelligent the thing really was. What kind of bird was it, and where had it come from? He wanted to know, and he hoped to learn right from the bird's own beak.

Still, the bird held its piece. It slowly became less afraid of the king, and soon after the servants, but it cried often when left alone and sang sadly when spoken to. The entire room grew an air of gloominess to it.

Soon the king stopped showing people his marvelous, magical bird. It was too depressing, even for such a wonder. The king didn't want his own mood to drop any further.

The bird never sang unless the king himself was present. It never sang for anyone on their own, or even on its own, but it always answered the king's requests, no matter the timing. It was an odd behavior, but still the bird such a sweet, lovely creature, one that kept him company at times and made music for him readily. The king felt terrible neglecting it, but many a time, he could not bear the gloom.

He almost decided to let the thing go, before remembering the noble's words. And he had paid the man a pretty price for the bird, after all.

He sat before the cage one day, as he did so many others.

"Why do you sing so sadly? Why will you not speak?" Now that he looked upon it, he was alarmed to see the bird had lost some of its golden glow. A few feathers lay strewn about the bottom of the cage, shed in a distinctly unnatural way.

The bird shook his head.

"Why should I sing of happy things?" Its voice was just as beautiful speaking as when it sang; a smooth, delicate tenor. Male. "I have nothing left to be happy about."

The man frowned. "What more can I give you to make you happy?" He had tried everything he could think of, but to no avail. Now, all he could do was give up, and he did not want that.

"You could set me free," the bird replied, looking at him hopefully. The king met his gaze and masked his emotions at that request.

"I will not," he said, ignoring the stab of guilt he felt when those eyes grew sad again, more hopeless than before. It was if all light had vanished from the world.

The bird fluttered closer to him, until his breast pressed against the bars. "My freedom is my life. The sky, the air, and the treetops are my home. Why keep me here when there is nothing I can do?"

"You are so much more than what you think." The creature looked up, wondering, but the king did not elaborate further. "You are and shall remain mine, but I will see to it that you are well cared for. You can have almost anything you want, and I promise nothing will harm you."

The bird curled inward.

"It won't matter. Your actions will be the death of me."

Of course, the king assumed he was lying. He scoffed angrily at such words. The bird would say anything if he thought it would get himself away, but insulting his keeper? That was unjust and ungrateful. Was the king not better than the noble, who acted in contempt for the bird's health and feelings? Did he not give him anything he could desire? Great comforts and luxuries beyond measure?

The king left that day in a huff, not intent on returning for a while.

The bird lost feathers steadily, until bits of pink flesh could be seen. Worse yet, his voice grew sickly, as if he wasn't eating, sleeping, or drinking enough. The king saw this and worried greatly, his anger almost entirely forgotten. He had his trained physician tend to the little bird, sometimes feeding it personally, but it did not get better. Even its beautiful blue eyes faded slowly, until they turned blank and colorless. The bird flew very little, but when it did, it would crash into the bars of its cage, or tumble into its food and water like a drunken thing.

To his horror, the king found that the bird was blind.

"Why has this happened?" he begged, watching the creature hobble around weakly. "You were so beautiful!"

"Do you not think so anymore?" it asked simply, with almost no hint of emotion in its voice.

"You are still wondrous to behold," the man replied diplomatically. "But your beauty is wilting. Why? Why had this happened to you?"

"I have not felt the sun on my wings in so long."

The king rushed to the curtains, drawing them aside so that gentle rays bathed the little enclosure in daylight.

"I have not felt the gentle, nourishing rain upon my back."

The king found a colander and had his servant hold it above the bird while he poured water into him.

"I have not felt a cool breeze lift me up to take wing."

The king called servants with fans to fan the bird, simulating wind. But the golden bird stirred very little at each attempt, and sighed when the man finally sent his servants away.

"I told you before what I needed to live, and you ignored my pleas. Now we will both be punished."

The king watched this sad, pitiful creature thoughtfully, debating. He had hoped to keep the little bird as a pet for many years, but he was wasting away before his very eyes. He had always felt sad when the bird was sad, of course; he wanted it to be happy, if only because his happy song would surely be wonderful. He wanted to talk to the bird as well, and have him be his companion. A friend, even.

But it seemed that their joint happiness was impossible.

"If I set you free, will you live?" he asked hesitantly.

The bird didn't look up. "You will not. You said so yourself."

"What if I changed my mind?"

The creature shook his head.

The king drew back, offended, but he didn't say anything. He was tempted to keep the little bird out of spite now. But all he had to do was look upon him once more, and his heart melted. The little thing looked as if he hadn't a hope or joy in the world.

The king realized then that he loved the bird. And he knew what had to be done.

The withering bird roused only slightly as the man unlatched the cage. The king saw his grey eyes widen as he lifted him in a gently cupped hand, leaving the cage and then the chamber entirely.

"Where are we going?"

The king said nothing, but carried him down the hall, past the concerned and whispering servants, all the way out into the courtyard. From there, the man walked to the middle, knelt in the soft, damp grass, and set the bird down on his feet. He stumbled a bit, disoriented.

"Go," the man urged, letting his hands fall back to his sides. He tried so hard to keep the sadness from his voice. "You are free."

The creature looked at him, shocked. "Why?"

"Because." He simply liked the bird and wanted him to be free. Then he could be healthy and happy.

The bird ruffled what was left of his feathers and lifted his wings. He shot from the ground like an arrow, speeding up on pure momentum, then seemed to struggle. His wings were weak and wobbly, and for a moment, he circled in the air above, confused and still semi-blinded.

The king watched him go sadly, but he knew he had done a good thing. Whether the bird returned to wherever he came from or he found some peaceful place to die, the fate was his to choose. The king had loved the beautiful bird, if for no other reason that its lovely voice and appearance, and he would miss it now. But there was no way to go back now.

Soon enough, the magical bird vanished from sight, and his previous owner felt a sad hollowness grip his heart.

"Goodbye..."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 Years Later...

The king sat on his throne, regarding his guest with a bored expression. He knew not where he had come from or why he had come, but he had demanded an audience with the king himself. Many were wary about his presence, but the man could hardly see why. The guest was young, with soft, delicate features. He came bearing no weapons or spell books, but knelt before the thrown and prayed silently for the king's favor.

The guard nearest him stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Majesty, this boy wishes to offer his services to you."

"If that is his aim, he can speak for himself. Leave us," he commanded, and the guards promptly filed out of the room. He then stood up, looked down at the figure knelt at the base of the dias and scoffed.

"So, boy, what is it that you can offer me? Are you a great magician?" he asked.

The boy remained in his bow, and shook his head.

"No, of course not," the king scoffed. "Are you a skilled craftsman? An artisan, perhaps?"

Another head shake.

"Are you a brave warrior?"

No.

"Then how could I possibly have use for you?" he asked, his sarcasm melting into irritability.

The boy said nothing, but looked up at him with stunningly deep blue eyes. For a moment the king froze, unable to speak. They seemed so beautiful, so familiar, that they took his very breath away. Coupled with golden blonde feathery hair, soft pink lips, and a round, gentle face, the boy made an appealing package. The king absently thought he could find some job for this pretty urchin, if only to keep him around. Make him a page perhaps, if he was so desperate to be of use.

"I can sing for you, Your Majesty."

The king's eyes shot wide in shock, his mouth falling open.

_"It cannot be.'_

"I can stay with you and bear your burdens, your sorrows, as my own. I can sing and lift your spirits, if only you will love me. Need me."

The boy opened his mouth again, and this time a beautiful song came waltzing out. It was even more familiar, like that of the bird he remembered, but somehow even better. The tune was gorgeous, but it was also joyful. Almost triumphant.

When the boy finished, the king was moved to tears.

"It's you..."

His guest smiled and nodded.

"How?...Why?"

The beautiful boy took his hands in his. "I'm here because I want to sing for you...Forgive me for making you wait so long."

"But what about your freedom? What-?" His questions were sealed away with a kiss.

Had it been anyone else, the king would have arrested the boy on the spot. But in this moment, everything simply felt too right. Those lips were soft and perfect against his own, and smooth, gentle hands framed his face as the blonde pulled him still closer, until their chests met.

"I am free," the boy whispered as they drew apart, his eyes warm and almost glowing. The king felt his breath thoroughly stolen away. "I'm here because I choose to be. That makes all of the difference in the world.

I was caught by that wicked man that gave me to you. But you saved me, cared for me, and released me, even though you had little to gain from it. I was so hopeless then, but I've realized how truly kind and generous you are. I could no longer give up, and I could not forget you." The blonde's smile grew bashful. "I long to be by your side, but willingly this time. So if it pleases you, I'll stay. In whatever form is most pleasing to you."

He yelped as he was swept up in strong arms, looking up with wide eyes at the king.

"You were lovely as a bird, and yet I wish to look upon this form all my days." He gently caressed the boy's face. "Stay with me, forever. Speak to me, sing for me, and be mine. And I... I will be yours."

That was truly a weighty gift. He'd never belonged to anyone before, never shared himself with another so openly.

Blue eyes grew wider, and then the boy smiled.

"I will. All my days."


	47. Bunny

5/12/13 Another one

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><p>Roxas clutched the rail of the ladder tightly, fidgeting as he watched his friend climbing slowly up to the roof of the school building. He worried his lower lip, glancing back to the playground for a second.<p>

"Axew, I c-changed my mind!" he called up. "It's okay! I'll get a teachew!"

"No! I'w get him, Woxas!" the redhead replied, looking down at him and smiling confidently. "I'm almost thewe!"

The blonde had half a mind to follow him up there, but just looking at how high up Axel was made him so nervous. He didn't want to go unless he had too.

When the redhead finally reached the top, he called to him again.

"D-Do you see him?"

The older boy said nothing, disappearing for a moment as he climbed fully onto the roof. The blonde wanted a teacher to find them so she could help, but then, that would just get Axel and him in trouble.

"Yeah! I found him!"

Roxas began to cry with relief. He had been so sure that his beloved stuffed toy was gone forever.

He and Mr. Bunny were just minding their own business, playing on the swings when Seifer and his friends came along and took him. Seifer was a third grader and a mean bully, but the teachers didn't do much to stop him. Unfortunately, Roxas was a favored target, being shy, quiet, and still clinging to his stuffed bunny at age 6. According to Seifer, toys were for babies, so he ran away with the bunny and threw it high up onto the roof.

Axel had found Roxas, curled up on the ground and crying behind the school building 10 minutes later. Instead of going to get a teacher, though, he said he would go up to the roof and save Mr. Bunny. That made Roxas feel better, but then, the climb was really high and dangerous. What if Axel got hurt? He didn't want that at all.

But Axel wouldn't change his mind.

The little blonde watched anxiously as the older boy leaned over the side of the roof, waving his stuffed friend triumphantly.

"Got him!"

"Come down! Befowe a teachew sees!"

"Okay! Catch!" Axel gently dropped Mr. Bunny into his waiting arms, and immediately Roxas cuddled him, comforted at the feel soft, tan fur on his cheek. He never wanted to let his friend go again.

The redhead smiled down at him and waved, then turned and backed towards the ladder, climbing down carefully. He went very slowly, but he didn't seem afraid. Roxas knew that if _he _had climbed up there, he would be scared. He might have even stayed on the roof and cried until someone came to get him down.

He liked Axel a lot. Axel was brave and strong and nice.

On the fifth rung down the older boy's foot slipped, and he yelped loudly as his body jerked, causing Roxas to jump and cry out.

"Axew!"

The redhead had managed to hold onto the ladder with his right hand, which kept him from plummeting to the ground. His legs kicked for a moment as he scrambled to find the rungs again, and Roxas dropped Mr. Bunny and started climbing the ladder too.

"I'm fine! Go back, Woxas, I'm coming down!"

Roxas hopped off the ladder and watched anxiously as his friend climbed down, making sure his foot was steadily on each rung before moving.

At the last rung, Axel jumped off, landing easily on his feet. He was only half-surprised when he turned around and his younger friend threw himself at him, hugging him tightly around his stomach. He reached his arms around Roxas and hugged him.

"S'okay, Woxas. I'm okay, see?"

After a minute, the blond finally stepped back, looking up at him with teary blue eyes.

"I was so scawed! I thought you wewe going to faww!" he cried. Axel smiled and ruffled his hair.

"But I didn't. I'm okay."

"W-Wewen't you scawed at aww?"

The older boy nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't want you to cwy anymowe. I got youw bunny." He bent down and picked up the stuffed animal, brushing off some of the dirt he had picked up on the ground. Then he handed him to Roxas, who accepted him gratefully. "And it was kind of coow! The woof is so high! I could see evewything!"

"Weww, it wooked scawy," the blonde said, pouting slightly. "But thank you." He really meant it, too. None of the other kids were as nice as Axel.

The older boy hugged him again. "Anything fow you, Woxy."


	48. Heartstrings

Sorry if there is little terminology in here. Like with the fencing thing in AYW, I don't know a lot about it other than what I see and hear, and I don't want to bug anyone with my ignorance. I try, though.

Hope it's okay. I think it's cute. Made me think of "Whisper of the Heart" a little bit after the fact. If you haven't seen that movie, you should. It's slow and slice-of-life, but it's a good story, and inspiring for writers :)

5/13/13

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><p>Today was a very off day for Roxas.<p>

After struggling through a clumsy rendition of Scarborough Fair, he set down his bow and violin and closed his practice book with a sigh of defeat. He had picked up the string instrument out of genuine interest; he had always loved the sounds it made, the range of emotions it could convey. He wanted to one day be able to play Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, his mother and his personal favorite piece. It was a dream he'd had since childhood, but his father didn't think violin was practical or manly at all, so he had made him play Struggle instead.

But now that he was older and out of the house, there was nothing stopping him from following his dream...Except one frustration after another. His clumsy playing, forgetting or interchanging the notes, shifting into the wrong key by accident once...

Maybe he'd never get to that level.

He looked over at his silent companion, who happened to be his boyfriend of two years, Axel. Axel was aware of his dream and approved whole-heartedly, but he encouraged the young man to teach himself a bit before seeking out a tutor. Bringing that person in would cost money, more than they could probably afford at this point, but the older man had said they could spring for one in a few months, if they tightened their belts a bit. And Roxas already had his mother's violin, which was in great condition despite its age, so why not start learning early?

Despite the fact that it wasn't going well, the redhead stayed with him, boredom be damned, as he had been for the past thirty minutes.

_What's with that look?_

Axel shrugged. _Nothing. I just love to watch you._

Roxas grinned at that.

_Oh really? If you could hear me, you'd be covering your ears. _His smile widened when his boyfriend chuckled. _Seriously though. I'm terrible._

_Well, you are just starting out, _the other man pointed out. Roxas couldn't really disagree with him there, but it didn't make him feel much better. He wanted to be great.

_Is it okay if I take a break now? _he asked. Axel shook his head.

_Practice two more times, then take a break. It'll be good for you._

"Okay," the blonde sighed, flipping open the book to Scarborough Fair again. It was a pretty nice song, and simple enough for beginners, but his playing lacked the smoothness he longed to hear. It was fragmented, staccato almost...or was it called tremolo? It happened in places because he would jerk his hand a little. He really didn't know anything about playing violin at all.

Roxas picked up the violin and bow and began to play once again. He felt really self-conscious, especially with Axel watching him. He could see him from the corner of his eye, and somehow that made him feel silly. His movements were stilted and awkward, not graceful or beautiful at all. And the sound...

But then Axel raised his hands, signing clearly.

_Relax. Move smoothly, gently._

He did as best he could, relaxing a bit at the encouragement. The sound wasn't perfect, but it became...nice, much nicer than before. Very nice, in fact. Slowly he let the music take him, his eyes drifting shut as he listened to himself play, felt the music flow through him. Now...it really wasn't so bad. Maybe he was getting the hang of it after all.

Then, of course, he played the wrong note. The blonde winced a little, but quickly recovered, going through the song in his mind without looking at the pages again. He had this down. He could do it...

He played the piece twice without pause, then opened his eyes. His boyfriend's gaze was practically enraptured; Roxas had never seen him look so intense before. He stared back, eyes wide, wondering what he had done.

Axel smiled wide.

_You were wonderful._

The blonde blushed deeply.

_Oh, hush. You're just saying that. I was terrible._ At that, Axel started shaking his head emphatically.

_No no! I saw you! It was amazing! You relaxed and let the music take you. _His eyes glimmered, as if they beheld something truly beautiful. _It was like I could see your music. You have to play for me again later!_

Exasperated by the attention, Roxas set down his instrument a little too quickly, wincing when he heard the impact.

"Whoops."

Axel laughed, which made him smile despite himself. Now more than ever, he wished Axel could hear. That way he could play for him, show him how truly terrible he was, and shut up this silly flattery. He could compare his slip-shod playing with professional violin, someone talented and knowledgeable playing Mozart or Vivaldi. Then Axel would see something truly great, and hear it too.

If only...

He almost didn't notice his boyfriend had begun speaking again.

I'm_ actually kinda turned on right now. _Roxas blushed as red as his lover's hair, as Axel grinned devilishly. _Watching you play is hot, babe. I could totally jump you right here._

The man made an obscene gesture, and Roxas slapped his arm.

"You perv!" He didn't really take offense, though, not much. And Axel could tell from his face that he didn't. The older man laughed as he leaned over and kissed his cheek.

_You know you love me._

Roxas snorted at that, but hugged him briefly.

"Maybe a little."


	49. The Little Match Boy

A variation of the Hans Christian Anderson story, because IDK. It randomly came to mind. 5/14/13

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><p>New Year's Eve was bitterly cold. Too cold to be out wandering the streets of town for any reason.<p>

Some people were out and about, shopping, meeting with friends for pre- New Year's Eve festivities, but they walked briskly, more often alone, passing everyone else as if they didn't exist.

One such non-existant little fellow was Axel, a boy not twelve years old, quietly entreating those around him to buy matches. Even a single match would do; his father would surely lock him outside for the night should he return home in failure. He might just beat him viciously, but there was no guarantee. His moods were unpredictable of late.

So the boy wandered the streets, displaying the one pack of matches he had. That was all he had been given, but for some reason no one was buying. Surely on a day like this, someone would have need of them.

He walked toward a constable, smiling hopefully as he showed the man his matches.

"On your way, boy. No soliciting here."

Frowning, the redhead nodded politely, wandering off towards a group of men as they left the bakery. He would have to be subtle. There wasn't anywhere else he could go, and he had to sell these last few matches.

The warm scent of freshly baked bread and sweets assaulted his nose, tempting and torturing him. Axel almost stopped to look in the window, but he couldn't be distracted. He did feel a bit more desperate, however, longing for even the smallest scrap of bread.

"Excuse me, Sirs." They looked down at him with disdain, and he tried his best not to shrink at the unwelcome feeling. "Would you like a match?"

"Begone, brat," said the tall one, the man with silver hair and golden eyes. "Sell your wares somewhere else."

"B-But Sir! Wouldn't a lit match be nice on a day such as this? They're warm and last a while!"

"I said no!" the man shoved him aside, as the others just continued walking. "Leave me be, you filthy urchin!"

"Is this boy bothering you, gentlemen?" the constable asked, grabbing the boy by the arm in a harsh grip. Axel hadn't even noticed him approach.

"Indeed he is. Kindly remove him, would you?"

"Of course." Axel had no choice but to follow him. The constable led him away from the main street, past the bakery and all the stores that were closing down for the night. He led him to an abandon street and finally released him.

"Go home, lad," he commanded. "No more badgering today."

"But Sir!"

"None of that now. Be on your way." With that, the constable left, and Axel sank to his knees in the snow, watching him leave.

He wasn't trying to be a pest, he just needed money. If he went home now, his father would surely be angry. Couldn't anyone understand that?

Axel felt the first of several frozen tears slide down his cheeks, and he wiped them away. A cold wind whipped down the street, making him shiver and hug himself tightly. He winced as he felt the cold bite as the snow soaked through his pants. The wind made it seem so much worse.

He knew he should go home, but something stopped him. Even as the lamps were lit and twilight faded into night, he stayed there, totally ignored by the few people scurrying home.

After some time, the boy brushed himself off and crept towards a nearby alleyway. It was still snowy and cold, but thankfully it was out of the wind. Settling down there, he pulled out a match and held it in his grubby fingers. His gloves had long ago been worn down with holes, and he could see his fingers turning blue. So he lit the match and held it cupped between his hands, smiling a little as the little flame warmed them.

After a moment, he relaxed his fingers, looking at the little yellow light. It reminded him of another time, when everything seemed nicer. He could almost see the lovely Christmas feast that his mother would make every year, the house sparkling with simple but beautiful decorations. Behind the table was a fireplace, with a large, roaring fire. There was a pot hanging above the fire, rattling and bubbling over with hearty soup.

The redhead licked his lips as he looked at it all. The small but savory turkey, mashed potatoes with a heaping helping of his mother's special gravy...

Oh, how he missed her cooking.

An unexpected wind blew the match out, and the vision disappeared.

Axel blinked at the match, then desperately clawed through his bag for another. With some difficulty, he struck it, illuminating the alley with another soft, tiny glowing light. He watched it for a moment, smiling when the vision returned. Watching it, he almost didn't feel the cold anymore.

It was Christmas Eve, four years ago. He remembered opening presents with...

The little boy sniffled, eyes watering as he caught sight of soft blonde hair.

Roxas.

_He and the blonde boy were sitting on the floor by the fire, unwrapping a few presents. The paper was dirty and torn in places, but the gifts were still fun to open. There was a little drum and bugle, cheaply made, as well as a small set of wooden toy soldiers. Roxas smiled up at their mothers, then Axel, asking if he wanted to play with the soldiers._

_The redhead nodded and picked one man up, noticing only then that he was cast with a single leg._

_"This one is broken," he said with a pout, tossing it aside and reaching for another._

_His friend crawled over to the little soldier and picked it up again, examining it._

_"There's nothing wrong with him. He serves his country, even with one leg! That's so much better!"_

Axel smiled sadly at the memory. Roxas seemed to always see the bright side of things.

That had been a wonderful Christmas, before everything had changed.

He hadn't even known that his friend was sick for the longest time. He didn't come over to play much after Christmas; Axel would have to go see him. And sometimes he wouldn't even get to do that. Roxas's mother would turn him away almost every time.

Then one day, he just...died. Axel watched them take his friend away, carried to some mass grave out of town. There was a tiny service held at the church, but then it was over. He didn't even know where he wad buried.

All of the poor and sick faced that fate.

Now his mother was sick with the same thing Roxas had had. The cold made her weak and sleepy. She slept all day, leaving Axel and his father to work, cook, and take care of her. And his father was always angry now.

As he started to lose the vision, the match burned out. Hastily, he pulled out another one, and banished the sad thoughts from his mind.

_He was there in the moment. Roxas was here with him, smiling and laughing. He crawled under the Christmas tree and pulled Axel with him, and then they just laid on the floor, looking up at the beautiful tree and talking forever. The blonde really loved their tree. It was much nicer than his own._

_Roxas and his family would join Axel's for the holidays. It had become a tradition. Even though they were both poor, they could buy a bigger turkey with their combined money. There was more wonderful food to eat, and it was fun to have his friend there._

_Then their mothers called them for dinner. They hurried to wash their hands and ran to the table, taking a seat as Axel's mother began the prayer. Axel tried to take a piece of turkey, but the younger boy elbowed him hard, chiding him quietly. With a grumble, the redhead folded his hands and closed his eyes. He'd just wanted a taste._

_"Not yet," Roxas hissed softly, and the redhead rolled his eyes behind the lids._

_He'd given up praying a while ago. If there was a god, he didn't seem to be in any hurry to change things. But he behaved for his mother's sake, and Roxas's._

_Soon enough they were digging into the small but hearty meal, and the vision became a distant dream, blurring more and more as time slipped away..._

* * *

><p>The boy was discovered the next morning, stiff and covered in the snow. In his cold hands, he clutched the remainder of a match, black at the tip. It was the same constable who found him and took pity on him, lifting the boy into his arms and carrying him away. Many would have left him be, making a grave of that abandoned street where he slept, but the man did not want that. He would find the boy's parents and let them have the body, if only for a little while.<p>

He only wished he'd known.

_Axel's soul sat still in that alleyway, lost, alone, unsure of where to go. He had watched his body go, taken away to be buried, most likely, but he dared not follow. He did not want to jump into that earthly crevice, to rot with the rest of him._

_Suddenly, a warm light filled the area, obscuring the cold snow and dingy street from view. It was strange, but ethereal, beautiful, and welcoming somehow. For moments, Axel could do nothing but stare at it, mystified. Was this what he was waiting for?_

_Then the light seemed to ripple. A familiar blonde child approached him, materializing from the center, bearing a warm smile and an outstretched hand._

_And Axel understood._

_With a matching smile, he accepted the hand. Roxas pulled him to his feet and embraced him, his body strangely warm. They remained that way for a short time, then the younger boy drew back, taking his hand and guiding him towards the light. They needed no words because there were no questions, no answers. His friend was simply here to bring him home._

_They stepped into it together and vanished from the world..._


	50. Stand Up

6/15/13 Randomness!

* * *

><p>It was Saturday, and I was in the middle of my show when Mom flipped off the t.v. and gave me that look, putting her hands on her hips.<p>

"Roxas, it's a gorgeous day outside. You should go play with Sora, Riku, and Kairi."

"But Mom! Today's the ninja turtles marathon!" I groaned, reaching for the remote.

"Hold it right there, mister!" My hand froze and grudgingly returned to my side. "You've watched enough t.v. for today. I'm offering you a choice now: would you rather rake the leaves or go play with your friends?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"I can rake leaves, I guess."

"And trim the hedges. And I think it's about time your father taught you how to mow the lawn."

"Dad!" I looked over my shoulder pleadingly, seeing him still glancing over the morning paper. His gaze drifted up briefly.

"Alright," he sighed. "Just let me finish this article and get changed and I'll teach him."

"Fine! Fine! I'll go outside and play!"

My mother smirked. "Good boy. Oh, and one more thing," she said as I passed. My shoulders tensed, awaiting the following order. "Take those cookies I baked over to Sora's mother, would you? You know how she loves chocolate chip."

I nodded, biting my tongue against a sarcastic comment.

I took the cookies to Sora's house, but his mom said he was sick today and couldn't play. At least he would get to watch TMNT.

No luck with the others either. Kairi had clarinet practice until 4, and Riku... well, Riku was nice enough, but he was more of Sora's friend than mine. He was cool, slightly older than the rest of us, but just the two of us hanging out would be awkward.

So finally, I got to the playground and sat down on a swing, letting it moved slowly back and forth while I dragged my feet against the wood chips. Some other kids were there, but I didn't really want to talk to them. It always made me feel nervous.

Being here on my own made me nervous. At least with Riku there, I could have felt safer. I was just hoping I didn't run into-

"Hey, brat!"

I cringed.

This was why I hated coming here.

I turned slightly to see Larxene, Marluxia, Xaldin, Axel, and his brother Reno approaching. This couldn't be good.

Four of them were smirking knowingly. Axel...well, he always looked uncomfortable being there. Kinda made me wonder why he was with them all the time.

"Please leave me alone," I said, trying to sound firm.

"Sorry, shortie. No can do, " Reno said smugly.

"Mom cut my allowance, so I can't buy ice cream today. Lend me some money?" Larxene asked, poking my arm hard. I batted her hand away.

"I don't have any money."

"Too bad for you, kid."

Xaldin shoved me off the swing, and I felt a sharp pain in my wrist when I hit the ground. It was like something was tearing. I curled into a ball as he, Marluxia, and Larxene swarmed in, kicking me hard all over. I hardly felt the blows, though. I don't think they were doing it that hard, but I might have been in shock. Even as a rambunctious kid, I hadn't felt pain like that before.

Larxene laughed shrilly, picking up a handful of chips and throwing them at me. I tried hard not to cry, but they wouldn't let up.

"Stop!" I shouted, reaching out to try and push Marluxia away. Just as my arm went out, he swung his leg back for a kick, and the force that hit my wrist next made me scream.

"Awwww, what's the matter, brat? Gonna cry?" Reno mocked.

I clutched my arm back against my chest and sobbed. It hurt so much.

Then came a voice I hadn't heard before. Well, not often anyway.

"Reno, that's enough, isn't it?" Axel? Why was he- ?

"Shut it, Axel. We're not through here."

"I think he's hurt. What if his parents call Dad?"

"Shit, your right. Back off, guys. Come on, come on! Back it up!"

The gang stopped kicking and hitting me, but I hardly noticed anymore. I just stayed on the ground, crying like a little baby. I couldn't help it. Every movement made me want to scream in pain.

Was my wrist broken?

The other kids on the playground must have heard me, but they just left. I heard the crunch of wood chips in the background as they scattered. Too scared to mess with Reno.

Said redhead looked down at me irritably, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Tell anyone and you're dead, squirt." Then to the others, he said, "Come on, guys. Let's go."

After a minute, their footsteps having long faded away, I let it out. I cried and screamed until my throat cracked and hurt. And why not? My dignity was already lost. I'd have time to be embarrassed later.

Then there was a hand on my shoulder, and the boy from before helped me up. Axel. He wasn't as old as Reno, but a year or so older than me. Like Riku.

But even if Riku could be cold sometimes, he wasn't a bully.

I bristled when Axel's hand stayed on my shoulder, even after I was up. I shrugged him off and snapped.

"I-I can take care of m-myself!"

"I'm sorry."

I looked up at him, thick tears blurring my eyes and probably making my glare really pathetic. But he really did look sorry. He reached for my wrist and after a minute of staring, I hesitantly offered it to him, wincing as his finger traced the slow-forming bruise.

"It might be sprained. If it keeps hurting really bad and swelling, you might want to go to the doctor, okay?"

I stubbornly wiped the tears from my eyes, still pouting, but I could feel my face burning. Why did he care? Why did _I_ care?

He sighed. "Want me to walk you home?"

"I can go fine by myself!"

"Are you going to tell?"

I paused, considering. If I told, then Reno would just come and beat me up again, probably worse. But then, he might do that anyway, when he feels like it. I was doomed either way.

"I would," Axel said out of nowhere, making me jump a little. "Bro picks on everyone and gets away with it. If you told, then Dad might beat some sense into him."

"You want me to tell?" I asked, wary. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Dad wouldn't listen to me, but he'd have to listen to you. And if Reno still tries to bother you again, I'll stick up for you."

I blinked, cradling my arm close to my chest. "Why?"

The boy smiled then. It wasn't that devious smirk his older brother always wore; just a nice, warm smile. And it was giving me butterflies.

"Cause I like you."


	51. Fin

6/15/13 I'm in a H.C. Anderson mood again. None of that Disney sentimentality here. Nope, this one might be a bummer, so be warned.

* * *

><p>As quietly as he could, Roxas crept into the prince's chambers, wincing as every step made his feet sing with pain. As he passed a large window, covered only by a thin silk curtain, the dagger clenched in his hand gleamed in the moonlight. It was brief; it gave no warning to the two people before him, curled together asleep on a large, plush bed.<p>

His sisters had given him this dagger, as one final proposition from the sea witch.

_"Take this and pierce the prince's heart. If you do this before dawn, you will not become foam on the sea. You will be a merman once more."_

Roxas whimpered softly, though no sound was heard. The pain in his heart almost outweighed the pain in his feet. He did not want to kill the prince. He loved him.

But there was no other choice. The moon was low in the sky, and dawn would reveal herself soon. He must either murder the man who had broken his heart, or disappear from existence; become a mere memory to everyone and everything he had ever loved. His father, his grandmother, his sisters, and...

He approached the bed, looking over the sleeping...form. Only the princess was there, the woman who had stolen Axel from him. Princess Namine was beautiful and kind; he had seen her, alone and with the prince, and he could understand why the prince loved her, even if she hadn't really saved him from the sea.

But she was inadvertently dooming him, she and Axel both.

Roxas looked around the room, searching for the prince, only to feel his blood run cold. The redheaded man stepped into the room from the hall, pausing when he saw the boy.

"Roxas?"

The sky was brightening with the approaching dawn. The young blonde clutched the dagger tightly, stealing himself to spring forward.

Axel looked at him, bewildered and fearful. "Roxas, what is the meaning of this?"

"Darling?" The two turned to see Namine sitting up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her tired eyes. "You have risen so early."

Time froze, and the three inhabitants of the room swapped gazes, eyes darting from one figure to another, confusion on all but one face.

Roxas's expression became tormented and unsure. Even with the sun about to rise, he could not bring himself to attack. Axel looked at him with such confusion, such betrayal, that it made the betrayal and sadness in his own heart seem so much less important. And a new pain rose to overtake the old, the pain of murdering his beloved.

Axel... His lips moved to form the words, but no sound came from them.

For so long he had wanted this man, and in his joining to him, a human soul. He craved it, longed for it with all that his merheart was capable of. Humans' lives were so short, but they were so much more meaningful, and then when they died, they moved on to everlasting happiness in Heaven.

Roxas wanted that, and he wanted to share paradise with the prince he had rescued from the jaws of the sea, the man who had taken him in, cared for him, who laughed and smiled so brightly when he danced.

Axel.

The redhead looked at him, not comprehending, and Roxas felt tears begin in his eyes. He could not do it. He would forsake a human soul, and murder a good man, only to return to the sea, cold, unfeeling, unhappy, and ageless. No...not truly ageless, he reminded himself. Only for a few hundred years, he would live, and then he would wither away, like so many other lost, soulless beings.

He turned and fled, wincing at the terrible pain it caused him. He was sure his feet were bleeding; they often did when he moved, as the witch said they would. He heard Axel call his name, heard Namine shriek in terror and confusion, as he hurled himself through the window, out of the castle, then down, down into the sea, the useless dagger still clenched in his fist.

His body miraculously missed the jagged rocks around the base, but Roxas hit the water with a harsh crack, causing him to fall still immediately. Before he could even register the pain of his fall, his body began to dissolve. Inch by inch, hand, foot, mouth, ear, all of it fizzing away into sea foam. He still heard the prince above him, calling down to him from the high window, but it was too late.

Axel searched the shore, but he could never find the blonde. Roxas melted away until nothing was left of him, but in his last moment of conscious living, he felt the sun on his face and smiled.


	52. Jerk Ass Frat Boys

7/27/13

* * *

><p>"What is your name?"<p>

The redhead stepped out of the crowd and gave a cocky grin.

"Axel Perez. And to answer your next questions, to seek the Holy Grail, and blue. Or wait," he paused, looking thoughtful. "Was I supposed to ask 'African or European Swallow' next?...Guess it's too late now. Throw me in the pit."

A few of the other boys behind him sniggered, but they quieted quickly when V, the easiest brother to distinguish due to his considerable size, took a step forward, raising a wooden paddle.

The short, cloaked figure standing in front of Axel crossed his arms impatiently.

"A wise cracker, eh? We'll see how long that lasts in here." Despite the words, his inquisitor sounded mildly amused. "Tell me, Perez, why did you come here tonight?"

Axel rolled his eyes. "Pledging. Duh."

The others murmured worriedly then, but he stood his ground. He was willing to play Organization XIII's game, but only so far. He wanted to be part of the frat, not brainwash all the personality out of him.

Only time would tell what they would do. In the meantime, he scoped out the scene.

The figure nodded, then turned to a taller cloaked figure standing a few feet behind him. "Brother VII, I would like to speak with this pledge alone. Permission to do so?"

"Granted," came a deeper, gruffer voice.

Ignoring the rest of the room, Axel boldly followed the short figure into the next room, almost strutting as he went. He walked as if he wasn't practically naked, dressed only in the ladies' lingerie he and the other pledges had been ordered to wear tonight. Sure, it was annoying and got stuck in awkward places, but the redhead hardly thought of it now. If anyone was staring, it was only because they awestruck at his gorgeousness.

The room was a medium-sized office, like the kind the college dean might have. It was glaringly out of place in a house usually littered with beer cans, bottles, and other trash.

The redhead watched as the hooded boy took a seat behind the desk and motioned for him to sit adjacent to him, on a comfy, if slightly gross-looking couch. When it wasn't being used for this kind of _serious business, _Axel shuddered to think of how else it had been put to use. He was sure he was better off not knowing.

Taking a seat, careful to avoid any fresh-looking stains, he looked up at his superior, only to blink when said figure pushed back his hood. The face revealed was young-looking, younger than him even. This kid looked like he should be in high school, though that could just be the deceptive packaging. His hair was blonde and soft-looking, despite it's spikiness, and deep blue eyes sparkled with amusement as the boy regarded him, resting his elbows on the desk and hooking his fingers like he was Montgomery Burns.

"So, what do you think so far, Perez? Because I think our organization has a place for a guy like you."

These "organizations" took themselves way too seriously, Axel thought to himself. Still, the kid was cute.

"It's cool, though the illuminati thing you have going on is retarded." He was only half-joking, but the other boy's expression didn't change. "You guys must watch a lot of Animal House, am I right?"

"You just say whatever the fuck comes to mind, don't you?"

Axel smirked. "I'm told it's one of my best features." His history of past girlfriends would probably argue, though.

The blonde smirked right back at him. It was caught somewhere between evil and... seductive?

Surprising, but not unwelcome.

"Well, you'll still have to work for it like the rest of them. Just because I like you doesn't mean you're in."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "What was the point of pulling me aside?"

"Even if you don't end up making the cut, I'm interested in you." The boy leaned closer, smirking wider as he extended a hand. "My name is Roxas, by the way, but for the sake of appearances, call me XIII around the others."

"Axel," he replied, shaking the hand. "So you want to torture me first, then date me? Or both at the same time?" Depending on the intensity of initiation, he could really end up hating this little cutie's guts. Or maybe not, if it was just the two of them and a paddle was involved...

Roxas chuckled softly. "Kinky. Sadly, we won't have much time alone for the next week or two, and I can't have the others thinking I'm playing favorites." The redhead nodded, then blinked as his hand was grabbed again. This time, the blonde pulled out a blue pen and began writing what looked to be a phone number on his palm.

"If you can wait until the results come in, we can go from there. And we don't need to jump right in." Roxas looked up then, setting the pen aside and smiling genuinely. "Personally, I'd like to get to know you first."

Axel pressed his other hand to his head and sighed dramatically.

"So forward, Roxy. Do you ask out all the guys you meet?" The other boy winked at him.

"Only the handsome ones."

"I'm so flattered."

After a few more words, the two stood to leave. Axel pretended not to notice his admirer staring another hole in his ass as he walked to the door. From there, he rejoined the sheep, watching as Roxas rejoined the wolves. It was business as usual.

The rushing from then on proved to be pretty typical and unimaginative, but thankfully nothing Axel couldn't cope with. He didn't experience anything soul-crushing or humiliating like his old man had described, and his dry sense of humor thankfully didn't get him into trouble. Most of the other pledges seemed to appreciate it, and the brothers XIII seemed to tolerate it well enough. Mostly.

Soon enough, Axel was inducted, amongst a select few of others. He got his own goofy black leather jacket and a number the other brothers called him by, but only really when dealing with fraternity business. It was chill enough, once inside the Organization. Axel found himself liking it more and more. He made a bunch of good friends right off the bat, went to some awesome parties.

But the weird, slightly-pushy, blonde-haired, blue-eyed blonde was by far the best thing he got out of the deal.


	53. Chick Has A Dick?

7/28/13

* * *

><p>"Why are you such a jerk?! Is it really so hard to consider <em>my<em> feelings?!"

"I _do, _but you need to calm the hell down! So I made a mistake! What the hell ever!"

"All I wanted was an apology! It's like I can't even talk to you sometimes!"

"Well I can never talk to you! God, Roxas, I can't stand being _around_ you! You know, sometimes, it...it really is like dating a chick with a dick!"

Roxas froze then, the anger slowly melting from his face in favor of a deathly calm. And the second he noticed it, Axel realized his blunder.

'Oh shit...'

"Really, Axel? That's really what you think?"

The redhead placed a hand over his mouth and quickly averted his eyes. Something inside screamed that Roxas was about to unleash the kraken.

"W-Well..." Should he try to be honest and dig himself in deeper? Or should he lie? Would the blonde believe that at this point? That it was just a joke?

While he was thinking, the younger boy stood so fast that his chair slid back and hit the wall. The redhead winced at the slam and the scratch of the wood on hard tile, but he couldn't look up, let alone try to meet his boyfriend's eyes.

The ensuing silence seemed to fill the room with dread, as neither boy moved or spoke. Axel, as a considerable connoisseur of Japanese Animation, could well imagine a dark, demonic look overtaking Roxas's features, shrouding his face in shadow. Any minute now, he would turn to him; ask him again in a horrible, wavering ghost voice if he'd meant what he'd said; and then grab the leg of the chair he'd just pushed back and beat him senseless with it. Just like a moody anime girlfriend, or Momiji from Binbo Gami Ga.

Looking at Roxas now, Axel saw that his head was lowered, bangs covering his eyes so that the redhead couldn't see. The frown, however, was unmistakable.

Averting his gaze to the floor, the taller boy fidgeted slightly, wondering what to do. He hadn't meant to blurt it out, but he was angry. This was the third time he'd counted when the blonde had gotten jealous of him hanging out with one of his female friends. His head was pounding from the hangover he was nursing, and the cold shoulder/silent treatment followed closely by a deafening shouting match hadn't helped make it better.

Now his head was clear though, and he remembered why Roxas was angry. They went to the party together, but only bumped into each other occasionally.

The older boy hadn't made out with Aqua, but he had been leaning on her frequently, and he was quite flirtatious when drunk. At 2 AM, the blonde had dragged his inebriated ass home to their apartment, quietly enduring his drunken slurring all through the drive, and then settled him down to sleep. Axel had woken up on the common room couch.

Breaking out of his thoughts, the redhead looked up at the sound of retreating footsteps, shocked to see Roxas hastily leaving the room.

"H-Hey! Rox, wait a second!"

Roxas had reached the hall, only ten feet from their shared bedroom, when Axel caught him.

"Let go of me, Axel." His voice was soft, but the redhead heard the underlying anger. It was subtle, but he'd been dating the boy long enough to know it when he heard it. He shook his head, still clutching his boyfriend's wrist tightly.

"Look, Roxas, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that shit about you being a girl." The shorter boy wasn't really trying to escape, but he wasn't looking at him either. Axel sighed. "I know I fucked up, okay? This morning and last night. Will you please turn around and talk to me?"

Slowly, the blonde lifted and turned his head. There were familiar tears in his eyes.

"M' not a girl," he mumbled, pouting.

'Biologically speaking, no,' Axel thought to himself, smiling helplessly as he kissed Roxas's cheek and gently wiped his tears away. 'But you can be whiny, jealous, possessive, chatty, and co-dependent at times.'

"Of course not," he said, pulling Roxas close for a chaste kiss. When he pulled back, he patted the blonde's cheek and smiled sweetly. "You're my awesome, sexy, manly boyfriend."

"You're lying. And I'm still mad at you for last night. If you think you can sweet talk me out of it, I'll bust your balls. Then I'll be the ONLY man in this relationship." Axel winced, but then chuckled awkwardly.

"Don't even joke about that shit, Rox." He liked his boys right where they were, thanks.

The shorter boy punched him hard in the arm, smirking a little when he whined.

"I'm not joking." Axel shot him a pitiful look, but he had already turned away, heading back down the hall. "I'll be in the computer room. If you want to get back on my good side, you can make me some coffee."

Axel waited until he heard the door close, letting the air settle. The threat was there, but the tension had melted away. Roxas did forgive him, or at least he was getting there.

The redhead shrugged, returning to the kitchen and starting up the coffee maker, just as he heard the theme from Wallflower playing on their desktop speakers. He heard a faint tenor voice joining in with the Japanese song and smiled.


	54. Face Down

7/29/13 Haven't decided if I wanted to make this a multi-"chaptered" drabble or not. It feels like an afterschool special to me. A little long, too, but maybe... Tell me what you think. Like or no like? Thoughts?

* * *

><p>The usually heavy flourescent lights above were flickering again. They went off for long intervals, then suddenly came to life again, only to go out seconds or minutes later. There was no pattern to it, and it wasn't particularly a big deal. There was enough daylight through the clouds so that people could see a little, if only the mirror wasn't so gross.<p>

I was kneeling by the wall of the guy's bathroom, one hand texting frantically while my other was searching my backpack for hair gel. If Reno stole it again, I swore I was going to-

The door opened loudly then. I jumped at the sudden noise, blinking when I saw a blue-eyed blonde boy looking equally startled. I fought to keep the blush off my face as I registered who it was.

Roxas McKellen. He was a sophomore, just a year below me, but you'd think from the height difference that we were attending different schools. He was short and slightly built, with a delicately rounded face. I, on the other hand, was taller and more muscular, with an angled chin and high cheekbones. He dressed modestly and nicely, usually in collared shirts and the like, while I looked like a wannabe emo punk, with dark colors, belts, buckles, a couple tats and piercings.

Despite it all, I'd been crushing on him since middle school. Too bad he was in a relationship now. My friend mentioned once that it was some older girl, a college junior, I think. It had gotten almost the whole school talking.

"Oh! Sorry!" he said, laughing awkwardly as I sat up. "I, uh, didn't know anyone was in here."

"It's cool," I replied, thankfully with some semblance of nonchalance. 'Cool...right. Gotta keep it cool.'

He walked over to the sink and dropped his bag there, immediately rooting through it. I chuckled.

"You lose your hair gel too?" I had always wondered if those spike of his were natural. Mine took forever to style.

He blinked at me dumbly for a moment, then seemed to catch the joke.

"N-No. Sorry...I'm a little out of it right now."

I smiled. "No prob. Lots of projects? I know I've got too many. I'm in Braig's class for Algebra 2." That man was a hard ass, too. He was probably the most infamous teacher at XHS.

"Uh-huh." He returned to searching his bag, taking out books and other various things and stacking them on the counter. He did seem a little on edge, and rushed. Was it just me, or was it something else, I wondered?

Just then, my hand grasped something smooth and plastic, and I grinned. Pulling out the small tube, I joined my crush as casually as I could, squirting a bit of the liquid in my hands and then working it through my hair. It would feel like sticks for a while, but as the day went on and the humidity cranked, it would get soft again. But even then, it would retain its shape. I was so glad to have found it.

After spiking my hair to my liking, I washed the remaining gunk off my hands. It felt wasteful, but then, if I used it all, my hair would probably be categorized as a lethal weapon. Maybe I could use it to impale my last three teachers for the day and get out early. I smiled absently at the idea. If only...

Glancing at Roxas out of the corner of my eye, I saw him finally grab what he was looking for. Out of a small plastic baggie, I saw him pull out... concealer?

"You wear make up?" I didn't mean for it to sound harsh, but it probably did, judging by his shocked look. I wore some on occasion, but Roxas didn't seem like the type. Not that I stalked him or anything. I'm not _that _kind of weird kid, although, if you haven't guessed, I kinda talk a lot. Mostly I have an ongoing inner monologue.

Like right now. It never shuts up, I swear.

"A little." He seemed nervous then, his hands shaking just slightly as he unscrewed the cap, applying it around his eyes and cheeks. I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't see why you need any." He really was cute, gorgeous even. And he had no zits or blemishes that I could see.

Roxas gaped at me, his cheeks turning bright pink. I think mine were too, a little bit, but I didn't really notice.

"Can I see your stash?" Without waiting for permission, I pulled out the ziplock bag resting just inside his backpack. I glanced over the contents with a frown, just as he started protesting.

'Hmmm...just concealer really.' And a few scattered prescription bottles. 'Weird...'

He snatched the bag back, and I let him, watching him stare down at the counter then with what looked like shame. He put the bag away slowly, refusing to meet my eyes again.

"I don't mean to pry, but are you okay? I know I don't look it, but I like to listen." He looked at me skeptically then. "What? It's true! I spend most of my day listening, even if people don't know it." Hopefully that didn't make me sound like a creeper, but it was true. Despite looking like a bad boy, I was just kinda introverted. I played the part sometimes, and with some of my few good friend here, but most of the time I just left people alone, and they did the same to me. I heard all sorts of interesting things everyday, in the cafeteria, the classroom, the bathroom. People are surprisingly loud, and surprisingly honest, when they think no one is listening.

He shook his head. "It's complicated. I appreciate it though." He looked at me in the mirror, wiping his eyes a little. Were they watering?

Then, for the first time since he'd come in, he smiled softly. "My name is Roxas, by the way. Nice to meet you."

'As if I didn't know.'

"I'm Axel," I replied, stretching my arms above my head and leaning back against the wall. "But listen, don't be a stranger, mkay? I'm here to listen, or I can talk if you want. Hell, we can hang out."

I thought for a moment that maybe I sounded too eager, but then he nodded.

"You're a year older, right? I haven't seen you around before, I don't think. What kind of stuff do you like to do?"

We chatted for a few minutes before I had to leave. I didn't want to; this was the first real conversation we'd ever had. Getting to know him a bit better, I found even more stuff to like about him. But I had to get to class before lunch officially ended, and he probably did too. Once the bell rang, everyone would be flooding back to their classes, and mine was on the other side of the building.

As I shrugged my bag onto my shoulder and headed to the door, I heard him call to me.

"Hey, uh, Axel?" I looked back to see him staring at his shoes. Looking shy and uncertain, he was even more cute. "I have a hypothetical question for you. Before we go."

"Shoot. But hurry up, or we'll get caught in the class rush." He nodded, putting his backpack on and following me. I held the door open for him, and we walked together a ways. The halls were still pretty empty, but I advised him to keep his voice down if it was personal.

"Okay. Let's say you had a..." He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "A bully."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you? For real, I mean?"

He shook his head and growled. "No! Will you just let me ask the question?"

I nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Hypothetically," he said with great emphasis, shooting me a look, "let's say you have a bully problem. But it's weird, because you care about what he or she thinks of you. Even though they are mean to you, you feel like you've gotta keep trying to make them happy." I nodded. It reminded me of my uncle. My aunt and cousins didn't say anything, but Mom and Dad talked about it a lot. The fact that he was emotionally, and maybe even mentally, abusive.

I didn't want to be too preachy, but my parents had this talk with me once. Maybe it would help him.

"I would say you should stand up for yourself. Think about what you're getting from the relationship with that person. Are your needs balanced with theirs? Are they hurting or upsetting you? It's hard to deal with, but you have to decide if it's worth being with them, and if not, you need to either tell them about the problem or leave." He winced, but nodded.

"But what if you _do_ talk with them, and they agree that you're right, but then they keep bullying you anyway?"

"Maybe they get it on some level, but the important thing to notice is that they _aren't_ stopping, no matter what you or they say. That means that it doesn't mean as much to them as it does to you, and you should think about that before continuing to spend time with them. Hypothetically, of course," I added at the end, smiling when he rolled his eyes.

Roxas was quiet for a few moments, seeming conflicted, but not really upset. I couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, but squinting at him a little more, I thought I could see faint traces of dark on his face, brought to the surface somewhat by the wrinkling of his brow. Very faint, almost invisible, and I couldn't gauge the size of them. I didn't want to assume too much or butt in where it wasn't wanted, though.

Just as he stopped by one door, which I assumed was his classroom, he looked up at me and smiled again.

"Thanks, Axel. The reason I asked is because I have a friend who has an older friend who picks on him a lot. He asked me, but I couldn't think of what to tell him."

I nodded back. "Glad I could help. Just tell that friend of yours to be careful." There would always be bullies in life, Mom said, so we needed to learn how to deal with them. But if the bully was threatening violence or force for something, that made things even more difficult to handle on our own.

"I'll make sure to tell him." Roxas shuffled his feet a little, looking slightly disappointed now. I couldn't help but feel excited inside. Roxas had talked to me, confided in me, if only a little. Now he seemed to like me!

"This is my room, so..."

I waved. "Got it. Find me some time. We can eat lunch together or hang out after school. I just got the new Bioshock game, if you're interested."

He grinned, looking genuinely happy and so, so adorable.

"Sounds great!"

* * *

><p>I don't know why, but I made Axel like JD from Scrubs. And the titleplot is partially based off the song by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Let the randomness continue.


	55. False Pretense

7/30/13 A part 2 to the last chapter: Face Down. How about it, y'all? Part 3? If we do that, that'll have to be the end of it.

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><p>I saw Roxas frequently after the incident in the bathroom. Not as frequently as I would like, but it was a good start. Lunch together twice a week, and sometimes on the weekends we would go to each other's houses for movies or games or whatever. Alone time with him was wonderful.<p>

Going to his house, I found out he has an older brother in college named Cloud, and a baby brother named Sora. He also has three pet guinea pigs named Terra, Ventus, and Aqua. I found that I liked the weird names, and they were fun to play with. I also found out that his girlfriend's name is Larxene. She really is in college, the same one as Cloud, in fact, and she has a really strong personality.

From the little I've heard from Roxas's mother and father, that's putting it mildly.

"I get a lot of weird looks when we hang out," Roxas said one day, while we were watching t.v. in his room. "People are so quick to judge, just because of our age difference. It makes me mad."

I hummed then, silently fuming. It wasn't for his frustration, like you might think.

"All that matters is that you both are happy, right?"

He nodded, lifting Ventus from his lap and cuddling him against his chest. Was it just me, or did he seem sad?

"Yeah. She's really funny sometimes. Really witty and snarky. And I like that she takes charge of things and isn't afraid to say or do what she needs to to get what she wants." He sighed then. "I wish I could be more like that."

I pretended to watch t.v. and played with Aqua. I could be like that too. Didn't Roxas notice that? What did she have that I didn't, other than a pair of boobs?

I didn't want to admit to myself that maybe that really was the reason. Maybe Roxas would never see me like that. I never asked about his sexuality, and he never made comments about it, besides maybe the references to Larxene.

It made me sad, and more than a little angry.

We hung out some more at lunch and once or twice after school. I still saw evidence of marks and bruises from time to time, but they were either really faint or he covered them well. Roxas seemed okay emotionally.

Maybe he was just clumsy.

I asked him about it at lunch once, after my friends had left the table. He blushed, and for a moment, it looked like he didn't know what to say.

"Look, if it's embarrassing or anything, don't worry about it. I was just curious." And any kind of marks on Roxas made my blood boil. If he did have an issue, then screw all my talk of standing up and being brave. I'd kick the shit out of anyone who hurt him any day of the week. I'd be glad to do it, too.

"Thanks, Axel. I just, uh...don't want to draw too much attention to it." He laughed then, but I caught the nervousness.

"It's cool," I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer. "I gotta say, though. You look cute when you're flustered."

His previous blush had disappeared somewhat, but now it was back full force. He grumbled a little, but didn't push me away.

"Weirdo..."

After another few weeks, I finally got to meet his girlfriend.

We were on the couch, keeping an eye on Sora while their parents went out for the night. It was Saturday, nothing good was playing on t.v., and Sora was napping for a little bit, so Roxas insisted on pulling out his books for class and reading through them. He said something about a test on Monday, but I thought the studying could have waited a day.

He tossed another book to me (more like AT me), said it'd be good for me to do some reading, and I did so, begrudgingly. Most of the time, though, I was sneaking glances at him. It was cute the way his brow furrowed while he read different passages, how he bit his lip and looked at the pages so intensely.

We both jumped when someone pounded on the door.

"Again?" He jumped up quickly and went to the door, then took a step back after opening it. "Quiet down, will you? Sora's napping!"

"Bout damn time you acknowledged me," came a slurred female voice. "Been calling the damn phone all night."

"I have a guest over," he replied, frowning as she stumbled past him.

"So that means you don't check your cell once? What are you, retarded?"

I blinked as she stepped into the living room. She was tall, with slicked back blonde hair save for two antennae-like bangs. Looking her up and down, I saw the short shorts and the striped tube top and swallowed. Puberty had been very generous towards her.

"Who's he?" she demanded, rounding on Roxas as he shut the door. "You blew me off for this twerp?"

"I promised my parents three weeks ago that I'd watch my brother while they went out." He crossed his arms over his chest, looking away as she glared boldly.

"You could have invited me over, you know."

"Last time I asked, you said, 'No, that sounds lame.' I'm sorry I can't be as interesting or have as much free time as you do."

"Watch the attitude, you little ass. And who's he?" she snarled, pointing at me accusingly. "Your new fuck buddy? Are you shitting me?"

Roxas looked upset at that. He wasn't crying, but he looked pained. Hurt.

I'm not sure what set me off more: the fact that she was being nasty for no reason, or notion that Roxas was already having sex, so young and with someone other than _me. _I guess it didn't matter much, though, because I stood up and grabbed her wrist, drawing her attention away from him.

"For your information, we're friends from school. He asked me to come over. What is your problem?"

"My problem is you fucking around with my boyfriend!" she snapped back, jerking away. She looked at Roxas then. He hadn't moved from that spot. "First you ignore my calls and texts, and now you blow me off for some emo punktard?!"

"What about you?" he asked, raising his head but speaking softly. "You're the one who hasn't been answering. For the last couple weeks, I tried to call you up or ask you to hang out, and you ignored me. Now you left your party to come over to my lame house, you stink like whiskey _again_, and now you're accusing me of cheating on you?"

"I had important shit going on for class! And by the way, I have a life! I can't just 'hang out' and watch t.v. all the time!"

He frowned, stepping closer. "I have no car and no money. What do you want from me?"

"Stop being a dweeb! Take this relationship fucking seriously!"

"I do!"

I didn't know what to do or say. Even though I wanted to defend Roxas, it wasn't my place. This was their argument, and I had no place being a part of it.

But then she slapped him. The bitch hit him; nails, palm, everything. And it wasn't a sissy slap either, like what you'd normally expect of girls. No, this was a full on slap. I heard the smack loud and clear.

I don't even remember what spurred her to do it. I just saw red.

She was the one, wasn't she? The one giving him shit, beating him up. I knew it in an instant.

I heard the baby upstairs start to wail just as my fist collided with her face.


	56. Dog Days

Happy back to school, and Labor Day Weekend, for those that applies to. *sad because she can never go back TwT* Unless of course you hate school. Then...here's a drabble! Hope it cheers you up! :)

9/1/13

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><p>"Pluto! Here, boy! Pluto, please come back!"<p>

Sora was going to kill him. Literally, with something random and obscure. Blunt. The brunet had a pretty sinister side under all that happy-go-lucky shit he spouted off at work, at happy hours, hanging with friends, etc. And he always had an active imagination.

No one was more aware of these little factoids than his brother, Roxas.

And maybe Kairi. But girlfriends don't really count.

"Shit, Pluto! Pluto, where are you, boy?!"

Ignoring the disapproving glares from around the park, mostly from mothers, Roxas continued to search the area, his eyes scanning frantically for the little yellow dog. In his left hand, he clenched the long-discarded collar, still hooked to the leash in his other hand. Somehow, don't ask him how, Pluto had slipped away, chasing after some squirrel or other stupid thing he'd discovered in the bushes. The blonde had stopped to direct some lost Korean tourists to their destination, and when he turned around, Pluto was gone.

If he didn't find that dog, Roxas was dead meat. That, and Sora and Kairi wouldn't be compensating him. The first issue was a bigger concern, though.

"Pluto!" he tried again, his ear perking slightly when he heard a playful bark. There weren't many other dogs around this morning, and they all seemed to be perfectly quiet and content on their leashes. So unless he was hearing things (and delusional panic would be a perfect explanation right about now), that had to be Pluto. It even sounded like him.

The blonde broke into a jog, swearing to himself when he saw the mutt jumping on someone just up the sidewalk.

"Down, boy! Down!" He practically slid into a kneeling position, gripping the dog around the neck with one arm while his other hand smashed the collar down over his head. Pluto snorted and shook his head, protesting only a moment as he jingled the tags on the collar. Then he turned back to his human and licked him, yipping softly.

"I'm so sorry about this. He got away from me. He's very friendly, and he doesn't have rabies or anything," the boy hurried to explain, standing up slowly and wiping his cheek free of dog drool. "He didn't freak you out, did...he?" The blonde stuttered a little as he met...shockingly green eyes.

"It's fine. I like dogs, especially the big, friendly ones like this guy." The stranger bent down to pet Pluto, smiling warmly. Roxas saw that, along with the shocking eyes, this other boy had a shockingly handsome face. Angular jaw, cheeks dotted with two...tear drops? Trying not to be obvious, the blonde squinted, observing them more, before he let his eyes wander down from there. Fiery red hair that fell to his shoulders, contrasting his sleek black coat and faded blue jeans.

He almost thought the other man hadn't caught him staring, only to realize he'd been spacing out. Green eyes were on him again, and they sparkled with a curious intensity.

"I like them even more when they come with cute little blondes attached. Or temporarily unattached, in this case."

Roxas blushed then, suddenly eyeing cracks on the pavement like they were the most fascinating things in all existence.

"O-Oh. I see...Well, just so you know, this is actually my brother's dog," he admitted lamely, scratching the back of his head. "I'm pet-sitting for the weekend."

The stranger laughed. "Damn. And here I thought I'd found the fabled 'perfect man.'" He shook his head and snapped his fingers. Roxas blushed even more as he looked back up at him, grinning widely now. "Oh well. What's your name?"

Roxas looked away slightly, nervously raking his fingers through his hair. He was always awkward when it came to flirting.

"What's it to you?" he tried, almost managing nonchalance. Sort of.

"Well, I figured I should get your info. My lawyer will want to contact you about your dog." The blonde looked up, terrified, only to see the older man burst out laughing. "Kidding, kidding!"

"You shouldn't joke about that sort of thing!" Besides the fact that his brother would be heartbroken (and murderous), a lot of good dogs and families were separated that way. That was serious shit to dog owners.

The man nodded, sobering a little.

"Sorry, yeah. That was douchey, huh?" He scratched the back of his head. "Wow. This is not going how I planned at all."

Roxas blinked. "What do you mean?" Had he been planning to flirt and get his number after he showed up?

"Don't take this a weird way, but I've actually seen you around before." The blonde blinked again. "Believe it or not, we work in the same building."

"Really? For Heart Corp?"

"Nah, one of the dozen other shmucks working there. Your office is on the first floor, lucky dog, and your desk is right across from the elevator. I pass by on my way up to floor eight."

"Oh! So you work for Kingdom Tech?" Or was it Dark Door LLC? The two companies shared floor eight, so he had a fifty-fifty chance.

"Yeah!" The man smiled again, and Roxas found he couldn't look away. "Anywho, I've seen you working and thought you were cute. Do you know Demyx Rogers?"

"Sort of. He works over in Project Management, but we talk sometimes." The other man nodded.

"He's an old college buddy of mine. I asked him about you, and he said you like to take walks in the park on weekend mornings. I came by yesterday on the off chance I'd see you, and I did, but I chickened out of talking to you. I saw you had this guy here," he patted Pluto on the head, and the dog nestled up, enjoying the attention, "and thought I'd come by today, see if you showed up, and then get your dog over here."

"That's an...intricate plan." Roxas couldn't decide if he was flattered, creeped out, or just plain confused. But the guy hadn't been stalking him necessarily, and he didn't seem like a bad guy.

"This is kinda awkward," the guy said, extending his hand. "But the name is Axel. Axel Summers."

Barely hesitating, the blonde shook his hand. "Roxas Barker." He frowned a little when Axel sniggered. "What?"

"Sorry...I have this thing about puns. You have a dog, and your last name is Barker."

Roxas blinked, then shook his head. "You're really weird."

"Weird in a bad way? I hope not. I've put all this effort into getting your attention, and I don't want you to be creeped out, but at the same time, I'd like to ask you to dinner or a happy hour or something." The redhead looked at him bashfully. "I would have just come talk to you, but as you've pointed out, I'm kinda weird."

The younger man raised an eyebrow at him.

"True...I guess one date couldn't hurt. But if you inexplicably already have my number in your phone, or show up at my house without me giving the address, I will think you're weird in a bad way and get a restraining order on you. Is that fair?"

Axel nodded quickly, excitedly. "Y-Yeah. Of course!" He blushed a little then, and the blonde couldn't deny how cute he looked like that, stammering and looking like he shot himself straight to cloud nine. Roxas didn't feel so bad about his sucky flirting now.

They chatted a little bit more, because now that he had found his brother's dog, Roxas was in no hurry. He found out that the redhead had lured Pluto away with some bacon bits, that he'd only hoped the dog would pull the younger man with him, not escape. Oh well. There was no harm done, and Roxas found a cute redheaded software programmer hopeless crushing on him. A little round-about and bordering on stalkerish, but still a pleasant, upbeat, shockingly handsome guy.

And the fact that Roxas wanted cats one day didn't discourage him much. Much.


	57. Your Guardian Angel

Part 1 was chapter 54, 2 was chapter 55. This marks part 3, and the last for this little story arc. Hope it's okay. Happy Thanksgiving 2013 :)

Rated for colorful language

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><p>A splash of something cold and wet hit me, and I jolted awake. Wait- awake? When did I fall asleep?<p>

Roxas was standing over me, eyebrows drawn down and a deep frown on his face. In his hand, I spied the offending object that had doused me; a now empty glass of water.

I shook my head to loose some of the water, and clutched my arms as I started to shiver.

"What. The. Hell?" I growled.

"I should be asking you that, Axel! Seriously, what the hell?" he snapped back, his blue eyes simmering with anger. He grabbed my arm and pulled me off the floor, dragged me to the couch and shoved me down onto it. "Hitting a girl! Who fucking does that?!"

"That's a stupid double standard and you know it." I remembered the fight. Or at least parts of it. Where was Larxene now? That skank deserved a hell of a lot worse than she-

Roxas shook me violently then, jerking me out of my thoughts.

"Think, you idiot! What if she pressed charges? She could have you arrested for assault!"

"I'd fire them right back at her," I said nastily, glaring him down. He opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off. "She can cry and bat her lashes all she wants. Doesn't change the fact that _she _assaulted two minors."

My friend sighed then, closing his eyes for a moment, and I could totally see him counting to ten in his head.

"Maybe you're right," he finally said, looking up at me again. His gaze wasn't as harsh anymore, but those blue eyes were still pretty piercing. "But why would you take that risk?"

I knew where he was coming from. Women always looked like the victims in situations like these, and maybe they were in a lot of cases. But shit could happen to men too, and I thought either no body should be allowed to hit anybody, or everybody should. Women like Larxene were clearly strong enough to take care of themselves, if the aches and pains I was feeling were any indication.

"I didn't like her treating you that way," I said simply. Honesty was probably the best policy right now. Roxas looked a bit calmer, but something told me he'd know bullshit when he heard it and I didn't want to piss him off again.

Weird as it was, I was glad to see him stand up to me. Meant there was some fire in him after all. Maybe tonight had just been the catalyst.

He shook his head, rubbing his forehead with tense fingers.

"I can handle myself, you know."

"I figured it out, kid, and I know it's been bothering you. You may be strong, but you're not that strong."

My reward for that comment was a punch in the arm. Right on a fresh bruise.

"OW! SON OF A SHIT!"

He slapped a hand over my mouth, hissing, "Shut your mouth! I just got Sora sleeping again, and I don't want him waking up AND picking up things from your filthy mouth!"

"Then don't punch me!" I snarled, pulling away. "Besides, he's too young to understand a damn thing I say."

"You'd think that," Roxas said cryptically, as he stood and walked out of the room. I blinked after him, half wondering if I should follow. I was still pretty pissed about the punch, and for how ungrateful the brat was being about this whole thing.

He came back a second later, though, carrying a small first aid kit and a few cloths. I tried to stand up, already protesting I was fine, but he shoved me down again, none too gently, and took out cleaning stuff and band aides.

"Sit still," he ordered, and I stuck my tongue out at him. "What are you, five?"

"Blow me."

He took the comment literally, as he dealt another blow to my body. This time, a light but irritating slap on my face.

"You're an angry blonde, you know that right?"

"Shut up and tie your hair back. I'm going to look at the damage."

I sighed, but did as I was told. Roxas had also brought a warm, wet washcloth out with the supplies, and as soon as my face was clear, he began applying it. I hissed a little when he rubbed the fabric over the left side.

"She nailed your cheek pretty good," he said absently, a slight hint of frustration still in his voice. I grumbled, but let him wash and clean the cuts, slipping into an awkward silence as he worked. I stared at the ceiling, the walls, the pictures on said walls, rolling my eyes and looking anywhere but his.

And still, the words bubbled up inside me, breaking free from my lips without my permission.

"I like you."

His hand abruptly froze, and when I looked back at his face, his eyes were wide, his eyebrows furrowed, and the faintest blush was coloring his cheeks. Awkward, but still not a bad sign yet.

At least he wasn't beating the shit out of me.

"Why?"

I reached up and clasped a hand over the one still lingering on my face, lacing our fingers together as I huffed a sigh.

"I saw you back in middle school, and since then, I've been crushing on you. I thought you were cute and smart and just a nice guy in general, but I knew I had no chance at you, even before you started dating Larxene. A guy like me, with you? I mean, even if you were bi, it couldn't happen in a million years, but still, I watched you, liked you, and wished you would notice me, even just a little.

Since we started hanging out, I've been really happy, but I was also really jealous and mad. I'm not proud of it," I admitted, looking up and gauging his reaction. He was staring at me blankly. "Look, I know that relationship with Larxene really meant something to you, but you don't deserve her shit. You deserve someone who will treat you like a king-"

"Someone like you?" he interrupted, looking at me strangely. I couldn't place the emotions on his face, but he was hesitant about something.

I shook my head. "I don't think I even begin to deserve you. But you deserve the way I would treat you. I'd never try to hurt you or manipulate you, and who knows? We could both end up happy." Maybe he could learn to love me.

He slipped his hand out of mine and rested it in his lap, staring at it. I saw how tired he looked; how stressful and frustrating all this time had been, pouring his heart into a relationship he knew in his heart wasn't really working. He must have know, but he stuck with it anyway. I just wondered why.

I saw tears forming in his eyes, but he manfully suppressed them, sighing again.

"Maybe we could be, but I really don't want to jump into this right away." He looked up and smiled shakily. "I'm afraid you'd just be my rebound."

My eyes widened. So...he would be okay with dating a guy? Also-

"Wait, so you and Larxene broke up?"

He slapped me harder this time.

"OW!"

"Of course we did, you shit! I pulled her off your sorry ass, and she dumped me and stormed out!" He glared away and began to pout. "Breaking up seems kind of obvious at this point, don't you think?"

"Hey, I didn't know! For all I could tell, you guys fight like this all the time!"

He flinched a little at that, and I felt a bit bad for him.

"Not all the time," he muttered, raising his knuckle to wipe an angry tear away. "It was pretty hot and cold though. I should have known better."

I felt like a royal ass now. He did still like the girl, and all I was doing was pouring salt in fresh wounds. Love isn't always a rational thing, and people in love don't behave rationally all the time. Hell, I tried to beat up an older woman tonight, just out of my idiotic love for Roxas.

I scooched closer to him and put my hand on his cheek. The area was darkening, and I could see band aides covering little scrapes from the harpy's nails. He'd patched himself up, for what little could be patched, just like he always did. He hid it, brushed it off, laughed it off as best he could, but the scars weren't just skin deep.

"Does it hurt?" He looked almost startled, as if he was zoning out and had just noticed I was much closer, but I pressed on. "Did she do anything else?" If she hurt him again after I was knocked out, I was going to track her down and beat her into bloody bits.

He shook his head. "It hurts a little, and no, she didn't. I just told her to get out, and then she dumped me."

I was willing to bet she said a lot more colorful things than just "I'm dumping you," but I just nodded. I felt like smiling, though, because there was a chance after all. Roxas wasn't repulsed, and he hadn't said no. He'd just said not now.

I could dig that. It'd give me a chance to actually woo him, not just watch and wish for once. He could be mine one day, and I swore then and there that I would protect him. No matter what, I wouldn't let him be hurt like this ever again.

"I feel so stupid-"

It was my turn to cut him off, covering his mouth and shaking my head.

"You're not stupid. You've just wasted some time on the wrong person is all. Happens to us all. Now," I reached over and carelessly shoved our books off the couch and onto the floor. We could study more later, "What's say we turn this shit night around? Forgot all about what's-her-tits?"

He snorted a laugh then, wiping his eyes again. "Not sure I can just yet."

"Sure you can!" I stretched my arms out comically wide. "Let's cue up Netflix or something and watch a movie! Or would you rather play a game? It's your choice! Come on, the night is young! Turn that frown upside down, Mister, or I'll staple that shit up for you!"

I proceeded to then make a dramatic ass of myself, spazzing like a crackhead, but it got my friend laughing at me. And seeing him laugh so hard was like seeing the sun after three weeks of cold, rainy days.

"You're an ass, you know that?"

After I changed into dry clothes, we goofed off for the rest of the night. I figured we'd talk shit out more in the morning, and for now, it was just enough to be with him and see him smile.

A smile which he dropped when Sora woke up crying to be changed, and said his first word ever.

"Shit!"


	58. The Turkey Day Food Clepto

_SLAP._

Mumbling a curse, Roxas stepped back from the stove and held his hand to his chest protectively.

Axel looked amused despite his frown, and he waved his wooden spoon menacingly.

"Serves you right. What did I say earlier? 'No turkey til it's finished.'"

"But Axel-"

"Nope!" The redhead stopped his lover mid-whine and began shooing him out of the kitchen for the third time that night. "Go set the table or something."

"I set it twenty minutes ago!" the younger man protested. "Please, Axel just one bi-"

"Nope! Go watch the game then."

"But they're losing!" The blonde didn't want to be depressed on Thanksgiving!

Axel shook his head. "I can't have you in the kitchen, Roxy, you know that. You pick at everything, and I'm not even close to being finished." It had happened before. One bite of turkey became six, which then became sixteen, and he was sure that if the younger man had his way, he'd happily finish the bird off, then probably go for whatever else was practically ready.

"But it's all so good!" Roxas pouted. He then immediately changed tactics, looking up at his lover with big blue puppy dog eyes. "Can't I have just a little something, Axel? I haven't eaten all day."

Axel rolled his eyes.

"It's your own fault you skipped lunch." He knew why though. Roxas loved food so much that sometimes he couldn't control himself around it. Thanksgiving was a big day for that, and he tried to save up room for the food and hit the gym, so that he'd feel less guilty later.

Roxas began blinking repeatedly, leaning heavily on the older man. "Axel? A-Axel, I can't see you! I'm so hungry…think I'm blacking out…"

"Are not," the redhead snorted, catching his lover and supporting him. "Cut it out, Roxy. You're faking."

"Am not. Where are you, Axel? I want to see you again…one last time…"

Axel chuckled, setting his spoon down before sweeping an arm under Roxas, lifting him bridal style into his arms. He had the satisfaction of hearing the blonde yelp, before he clung to him tightly and shot him a glare.

"Hey!"

Axel smiled sweetly. "You look better now. Sorry, love, but I was worried. I was going to carry you to the living room and lay you down to rest til you were well again."

"Please, Axel." In all seriousness, the blonde really did want a small piece of turkey. Axel's was always sinfully good; warm, juicy, soft, and chewy, with just the right amount of butter to put him straight to a food coma after dinner. All the other food notwithstanding.

The redhead sighed dramatically, carrying his lover over to the stove top, where the turkey sat cooling. It wasn't a big bird, since it was just the two of them this year, but it was enough for leftovers. Golden-brown, it radiated delicious smells that made Roxas shiver and hum in his lover's arms.

Axel laughed, holding him close so that he could pluck little off the wing. He laughed even harder when the younger man crammed the meat in his mouth, clearly enjoying it.

Truth be told, this was the reason he loved cooking. Watching someone he loved take that first bite of his hard work and love the hell out of it. And Roxas loved the hell out of pretty much everything he cooked.

"Marry me," the blonde mumbled, still chewing, and Axel barked a laugh, kissing his cheek.

"Gladly, but now you got what you wanted." He slid the younger man out of his arms. "Shoo."

"Awwwwww, come on!"

"Out, scavenger! Out!"

Later, they feasted, enjoying what Axel had managed to keep away from Roxas. The two men were never more thankful to have each other.


	59. Corrupting Influence

Cue the George Takei "Oh Myyyy…." XD Random little story alert here. Rated for language and sexual themes (so tread with caution)

The countdown to Christmas begins! 12/3/13

* * *

><p>It's official; I'm in love with a conniving little minx.<p>

"Axel! Don't say things like that!" Sora would always shriek, covering his younger brother's ears with both hands and glaring at me. "You'll pervert his innocent mind!"

I snorted. "No I won't. He knows about blow jobs." And I hoped that how I knew that he knew would be obvious. Sora never was a bright one.

"Axel!"

"Sora," Roxas said, blinking up at him. He looked so child-like in that instance, it was creepy. "What's a blow job?"

I've had several such instances happen to me. Hanging with friends, casually drop a sex pun or something, and then everyone acts like I've scarred Roxas for life. Nevermind the fact that he's only a year younger than Sora. Nevermind that he's been to sex ed, just like the rest of us. Somehow, don't ask me how, I always get blamed for every naughty word Roxas ever uses in conversation.

"What's a rimjob?"

"Axel! What the hell?!"

"For fuck's sake, he's eighteen. Even if he was that clueless, _which he isn't," _I emphasized yet again, "You can't protect him forever."

"That's not the point! I won't have you corrupting my little brother!"

"Sora, Axel said something about licking his popsicle, but he didn't bring one."

"AXEL!"

And Roxas never had a thing to say about anything. He'd just parrot me, then act all distracted and sweet and innocent. Like a five year old who called someone a cunt after hearing his older brother casually throw the word around once or twice. And they all bought it! Sora, Riku, Kairi, Nami, everyone bought the act!

I got the sense my little Roxy had a pretty repressed home life. Not sure though, since I never met his folks. Sora could be uptight as all hell though. Very protective, clean and proper unless his baby brother wasn't with him.

Still… what a hypocrite. And I did not like being the villain all the fucking time, especially when the little shit was _clearly _faking.

It was weird, but I knew Roxas better than anyone. Maybe that was why we were always fast friends, right up until my senior year when he tongued the hell out of me in the janitor's closet on graduation day.

Somehow, that was my fault.

"Axel…what's anal?"

I sighed, hoping no one was overhearing us as I led him by the hand down the hall to my apartment suite.

"Roxas, you can drop the act. You know you're not fooling me." I pulled out my keys and fidgeted looking for the right one. Soon it was in the lock and turning, letting us inside.

He tilted his head curiously. Damn him for being so cute!

"I'm not fooling. What is anal? You know, don't you Axel?"

I rolled my eyes, deciding to play along a little bit.

"It's like obsessive compulsive. Like this little facade you maintain when our friends are around. I'd say that qualifies as very anal." I had the satisfaction of seeing him frown for a moment, but it vanished almost as quickly as it came. Then he was smirking widely, a mischievous glint in his cute blue eyes that I knew I should probably fear, but didn't. It was too inviting.

"Did you forget, Axel?" And _thump. _With surprising strength, he pinned me against the wall, and his hands immediately began roaming slowly, seductively. "Maybe I can help," he purred. "I can help you _remember._"

"Oh really?" I growled back, pulling a Lion King and flipping us around so that I pinned him. "That sounds like a great idea."

He always tortured me, being a tease in public and getting the others to gang up on me, but I could always get him back later. When we were alone, like this, I could pay him back in kind.

Frustrating, yes, but damn addicting. As long as this little minx was mine, no real fucks were given.


	60. Savior

"He's not for sale."

"Come now, Marvin. Be reasonable! How many slaves do you really need here?"

Roxas flinched at the all too familiar word, but kept his head down, sitting stiff against the wall. He twitched his arm slightly, wanting to scratch an itch on his knee, but he was too afraid. He didn't want to draw attention, and the chains binding him were so tight that he knew they would rattle.

"You've told me so much about him. Why share if you aren't planning to sell?"

Roxas heard his master scoff, but a smirk was evident in his voice.

"Bragging rights, of course. Ones like this are hard to come by." Roxas sensed cold eyes falling upon him, felt the chill rip through him, forcing a shudder through his body. "Surely he is a lost pedigree. Beautiful features, unique coloring, and best of all, virginal."

The last word was an ice spike in the pit of his belly. For so long, he had feared guessing at his purpose; why he was stolen from his home, paraded around like an animal, and sold to this man in this place. How long had he been chained here? A few weeks now? A month? The little blonde didn't know, cooped up in this cold, windowless room, blindfolded and fed and bathed sparsely.

"You haven't taken him yet?"

"I've been very busy of late. Traveling on business, you know."

"How much would persuade you to let me have him?"

Roxas trembled slightly, wondering amid his churning fear whom he should root for. Did it even matter anymore?

He had no control, no say in anything. Just a slave… forever more, a slave...

The conversation carried on, but the boy only caught snippets of it.

"Leave it be, Axel."

"I'll pay you handsomely."

Despite himself, Roxas began to doze on and off. He was so very tired, and his stomach moaned weakly for food...

Then he was shaken awake. Startled, he almost fell as hands dragged him to his feet. The chains must have been undone some time ago.

His head felt warm and fuzzy, and he almost tripped, but the grip around his wrists was tight as it bound them together with a rope.

"I can't help but feel I'm being swindled."

The other man's voice, young and haughty, carried a grin. "You signed the order willingly, Marvin. If you go back on it now, you'll make quite a mess, I daresay."

"Indeed," Roxas's former master grumbled. "Take him away now, before I do just that."

"As you wish."

With a jerk at the rope, the boy stumbled into motion. Led like a dog on a leash, he and the strange man traversed through the ornate mansion (the blonde had seen it upon arriving, but barely remembered now), and finally out the door into the cool night. Roxas whined, longing to run his stiff arms and warm himself, but his new master tugged impatiently, leading him to what sounded like a carriage. A horse whinnied and stamped the ground, and the rickety wooden wheels groaned slightly.

A servant spoke lowly, and a door was opened. Roxas yelped as he was shoved into the carriage, curling instinctively as he hit the plush seat. The man climbed in after him, shut the door loudly, and the carriage sped off, down the long way to the gates barring the outside world from this solemn, cold home.

After a moment or so, the blonde boy felt a hand touch his face. Frightened, he drew back as far as he could, shaking his head emphatically.

"P-Please-"

"Shhhhh," the man said gently, his voice now very close. The hand began…caressing his face slightly, fingers slipping up and under the blindfold. "Don't fret. He cannot see us anymore, and you are safe."

The fabric was pulled away, and Roxas blinked into kind, remarkably bright green eyes.

"Who are you?" So many questions were racing through his mind, but this was the only one he could voice. Before him sat a nobleman; younger and lesser than the man who originally bought him. He was polished and clean looking, but with wild red hair styled long and spiky behind him, tied back with a ribbon.

"A friend."

* * *

><p>Not quite sure where I was going with this one. I guess I was thinking of Axel being part of something like the underground railroad, although much more simplistic. Should I do another drabble for this one?<p>

Happy New Year, everybody! 1/4/2014


	61. Nightmare

He was wandering in the woods again, as the remnants of dusk began to fade away into night. The sky behind him was painted black, with a beautiful but tiny crescent moon; the single bright sliver in a sea of looming clouds and darkness.

In the fading sunlight ahead, he caught a familiar glimpse of white that flickered briefly. It dulled a bit as it changed its angle, but his eyes remained trained on the thing, stalking like a true predator.

"I've found you."

Quick as could be, he followed the shape, tracking it to a familiar lake, with a familiar castle nestled beside it. He came to the lake's edge and stared around for a moment, bewildered. Where had he seen this before?

All of this seemed eerily familiar.

Axel shook his head, reaching back until his fingers grazed the shaft of an arrow. There was no time to stop and wonder. At least not yet.

Tonight, he would end this.

The white shape took notice of him, turning and flying over as the sun finally set. It grew steadily larger as it neared him, and he drew his bowstring back with practiced ease, aiming the arrow straight at its breast.

"Give him back, you monster."

No sooner had he whispered it, he let the arrow fly.

It found its mark with deadly accuracy.

And the white shape dropped from the sky.

Axel sprinted toward it as it hit the ground, stopping just a few feet away as he spotted the crackling, glowing light of magic. A ring of green-blue light surrounded the fallen creature, what looked to be an ordinary swan, before enveloping him in a bubble. The man looked away, shielding his eyes from the brilliance but not content to let the thing out of his sight. Surely a beast so powerful would not be killed by a single arrow.

When the spell lifted, he turned back to his quarry, gasping at the sight.

There lay a boy, not a scowling, wounded sorcerer. A boy he knew all too well, whose eyes were wide with pain and betrayal, staring fixedly into his own.

Roxas.

He shouted, but no sound came out. He knew he was running again, but even his stumbling footsteps were silent as the grave. All this he registered in passing, his focus entirely on his mortally wounded lover. But the faster he ran, the further away he seemed to get.

Roxas weakly reached out to him, his other hand clutching the bolt buried deep in his chest.

"Axel...why?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Axel sat bolt upright in bed, clutching his frantically beating heart and panting.

"Hmmmm...Axel?" A soft yawn followed as a familiar shape beside him stirred. "Are you alright?"

The redhead looked over, his features still horror-stricken and pale.

"You're alive!" His lover yelped as he was enveloped in a sudden, crushing embrace. "Oh, Roxas! Thank goodness!"

"A-Axel! What's this about?" the blonde asked, squirming out of his hold and grasping the other man by his shoulders. "What's the matter?"

"I...I had a dream," he replied, swallowing heavily as he slowly calmed. "It was the night I tried to kill you, but this time I succeeded."

"Back when I was cursed?"

Axel nodded. "It still haunts me. I could have killed you-"

"But you didn't," the blonde hurried to reply, cuddling the other man as he laid them both back down. He curled into the redhead, smiling a little at the sheer, loving warmth he radiated. His true love...

"But I almost did. I could have lost you forever." Axel's grip tightened, and he scoffed. "I almost lost you twice."

"But you didn't, and you won't," Roxas urged, reaching up to touch that sad face above him. "I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know...I guess. But I still feel to blame for all this-"

He was stopped by a hand slapped over his mouth.

"Don't. It was nobody's fault, Axel. Just an unhappy accident." The younger man shook his head. "I hoped we were past all this by now."

His lover sighed, green eyes slipping close and a faint blush dusting his cheeks. "I know. I'm sorry. Even more so for waking you."

"Don't be. I love you." Roxas tugged his face down for a kiss, and the redhead easily melted. It was sweet and lingering, offering comfort and assurance as best as the young man knew how.

Neither man had ever been particularly good with words anyway.

"If you dream about me," he said finally, when they parted, "don't think about that. Think about...I don't know. Nicer things."

"Ohhh, so I have your permission?" Axel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as his lover snorted, smiling nevertheless.

"Yes. Fine. Just go back to sleep." As he turned away and snuggled back into the redhead's chest, he muttered, "Pervert."

A husky chuckle tickled his ear.

"You know you love me."

And Roxas grinned sleepily, as an arm closed around his waist. He felt protected, and so very wanted.

"I do."

Slowly, they fell asleep again, secure in the knowledge that, whatever challenges the new day brought, they were safe, sound, and together.

* * *

><p>I'M STILL ALIVE! JUST LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT XD Sorry it's taking me a while to get back into things. I blame the quarter-life crisis<p>

Anyway, here's a drabble as sort of a little side-sequeal thingy to "Far Longer Than Forever." Happily ever afters exist, but rarely do they come with no scars or trauma of any sort. Even in my fantasy stories, I'm a realist apparently -_- meh

Oh well. At least Roxas and Axel have each other :)

Hope everyone is doing well so far this year. Stay out of trouble, y'all

3/3/14

*goes off to order a copy of "The Stick of Truth"*


	62. Meant to Be

"B-But I don't w-want to!"

Cloud sighed heavily, glancing from his severely distraught younger brother to his own bedroom door. A loud sneeze sounded within, followed by a muffled curse he hoped the other boy hadn't heard.

"I'm sorry, Roxas, but you have to. You made that deal with Tifa, so you have to hold up your end."

The smaller blonde dropped to the floor, scooping the fat Siamese cat up in his arms and cuddling her protectively.

"But she's mine!" he cried, blue eyes overflowing with tears. "Please, Cloud..."

It was times like this that he hating being a big brother.

Roxas had always been a timid child, not helped by the fact that their father was a drunk with a penchant for hitting. Roxas and Cloud were seven years apart, and despite their looks, they couldn't have been more different. But that didn't mean the older blonde didn't love his baby brother with all his heart.

As soon as he could, Cloud had moved them away from their father. Now, he was living with girlfriend of four years, Tifa, the most amazing woman ever, while going to college on athletic scholarship, all the while trying to be a supportive guardian to Roxas. It was pretty hard.

But this was the hardest he could ever remember it.

Roxas didn't have many friends, but the few he had were very good and patient. Axel especially. Cloud has a sneaking suspicion that the redhead wanted them to be more than just friends, but he couldn't be certain. The older boy didn't come over a ton, but when he did, the chemistry was there.

Even if that was the case, Roxas was as dense as a rock about social stuff.

Roxas had started volunteering at a local cat shelter after school. He really loved animals; they calmed him, and Cloud could tell he felt a sense of kinship with the strays, especially the introverted ones. Everyday, he came home smiling, more chatty than usual as he told his big brother and sister about the cats he had cared for, the ones who got adopted, and the ones who needed socializing.

Sometimes he came home with scrapes and bites, but that never seemed to get Roxas down.

It was sweet, how happy the boy was about helping others in need. His grades weren't the best, but he was a good, caring person with morals. That was what Cloud really cared about.

The boy got very attached to the cats, and was both sad and happy to see them go. Then, one of the older volunteers had mentioned the possibility of fostering to him, and, naive and optimistic as he was, Roxas wanted to do it. Anything to be of help.

But Tifa was allergic and wasn't sure how she'd react to a pet in the house. She'd reluctantly agreed to do a test run, a foster that would only last one weekend, to see if she could cope. Roxas didn't ask for much, so she'd wanted to try to make him happy. Yet another reason why Cloud loved her.

Now the weekend was over, and Tifa, the saint that she was, had put up with hives and sniffles for three full days. It was clear now that they couldn't keep a cat in the apartment, even for the short term, without making her miserable.

And unfortunately, Roxas had fallen in love with the cat the first day he brought it home.

"She isn't your cat, Roxas," Cloud said firmly, hating himself a little more every minute. "You fostered her so she could get used to people. So someone else could adopt her."

"No!" The little blonde broke down, sobbing heavily again as he clutched Sasha tighter to him. She gave a slight hiss at the treatment, and Roxas loosened his hold accordingly, but otherwise, the cat didn't protest.

"I want her. She's my cat," the boy muttered. He began to pet it softly, sniffling as it purred. "I don't want to give her back."

"You have to. I'm sorry, but we just can't keep her here." The shelter gave them supplies for Sasha's visit, but otherwise, they could't really afford a pet if they wanted one.

Cloud watched, almost as heartbroken as his brother, as Roxas carefully tried to push the cat into her carrier.

"C-Come on, Sasha." His eyes watered constantly, and his voice broke the more she resisted. "Y-You've gotta go h-home now."

Sasha was not happy with the change. Roxas cried more, even louder, as he gathered up her toys and litterbox, as she began to whine and cry.

They took her back to the shelter slowly, extending the drive a little bit for the younger boy's sake. Roxas sat in the backseat, holding the carrier for dear life and whispering loving words to the cat, who kept on meowing and crying the whole way.

"I-It's okay, Sasha. You're okay. You'll be okay."

Cloud just turned up the volume on the radio.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You've done a wonderful job," the senior volunteer said sympathetically, as Roxas unlatched the carrier door and watched tearfully as the cat slipped out, bounding off to join the others. A few other volunteers and customers were in, but not many, and Sasha walked right up to one and nuzzled her, drawing the woman's attention.

"She never would have approached a stranger before this. You should be very proud, Roxas. I'm sure she'll find a nice home very soon."

The little blonde looked away, wiping his eyes.

"Don't forget her sweatshirt," he said sadly, tugging it off and handing it to the woman, who blinked. "She likes it because it's soft."

"Uh...okay. Thank you, Roxas."

Cloud watched the whole thing, confused and a little miffed. He'd bought that sweatshirt for Roxas a year ago, not too cheaply, and the boy had really cherished it. Now he was giving it away, all because the cat had liked cuddling up on it. She was already tearing the fabric a little with her claws.

But he didn't have the heart to say anything.

"Please leave it out for her, so she can...s-sleep on it if she wants." Roxas's voice broke a little, as he walked over to Sasha and pet her a few more times. "B-Bye, Sasha. Be g-good, okay?"

The customer right by them looked over, clearly concerned, but Cloud shook his head at her and the other volunteer.

The boy knelt down and hugged her one last time, sniffling loudly as she nuzzled him back.

"I love you."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You okay, Roxas? You've been quiet all day."

They'd been away a week thanks to spring break, and Roxas had come back to school looking like a zombie. Even more so than when he first started school. That's what Axel had said.

Cloud spied on them through the crack in his brother's door, concerned as the little blonde just picked at his pizza slice. He'd barely eat anything the last couple of days, but he'd always liked pizza.

"M' sad."

Axel snorted. "No kidding. What about though? Didn't you have a good break?"

Roxas stared down at his lap and sniffled.

"I fostered a cat two weekends ago."

"And how was that? I thought you liked cats."

"I do!" he cried, looking at his friend's now wide eyes. "She was the sweetest cat ever! Sasha was really shy at first, but she opened up to me so quickly! She..." He smiled a little then. "She did this cute thing, where she'd hide under my bed and wait for me to lift up the covers looking for her. Then she'd, like, army crawl out and bonk me on the head. And one morning, she hopped on my chest before my alarm went off and woke me up with a headbutt. It didn't hurt much, though. It was just kind of funny."

"What kind of cat was she?"

"A really pretty Siamese. They can be temperamental sometimes, but she was so sweet. She talked a lot too."

"Talked?" Axel feigned confusion. "Oh no! Roxy, are you becoming a crazy cat lady already?!"

"No!" the boy squawked, forgetting his sadness for a moment as he flicked his friend's nose. "Some cats just make a lot of sound. It's like talking, kind of."

"I know, I know! Yeesh! Didn't have to do that."

Roxas stuck his tongue out. "You were being a dick."

Cloud frowned a little at that as he listened to them. His paternal/fraternal instincts told him to march in there and wash that boy's mouth out with soap, but that was a little extreme and old-fashioned.

"So, what? It sounds like you had a great time. What's the issue?"

Cloud saw his smile fade away, as more tears came to the boy's eyes. Again.

"I want her. I want her more than I've ever wanted anything. I know she was only here for a fostering, but she really felt like...like my cat. You know?" Axel nodded. "I love her, but I had to give her back. Tifa was sick all weekend because of her. A-And..."

Roxas paused a moment, trying to collect himself and failing.

"And what, kid?"

He looked surprised when the younger boy let out a sob.

"By the time I went in on Friday, she was gone!" He crawled over to his backpack and tugged out a familiar grey sweatshirt, by this point nearly white with cat hair. He balled it up and squeezed it to his chest. "She's been adopted! I'll never see her again!"

"Roxas...Roxas, come here." Cloud watched as Axel pulled his brother close and held him tightly. "It'll be alright."

"N-N-No it w-won't!"

As quietly as he could, the older brother slipped away, off to join his girlfriend in the kitchen making dinner. He couldn't watch this anymore.

He hoped Roxas would forgive him someday.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was a week later, just as Cloud was getting out of his nearly three hour long Wednesday night class, that his phone began to buzz.

"Yello?" he answered, upbeat despite the draining lecture.

"CLOUD! OH CLOUD, YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT AXEL DID!" The blonde yelped, holding the phone away from his ear. A few people glared at him and he chuckled nervously, pressing the device back to his ear only when the voice quieted.

"Calm down, Roxas. I'm just leaving Halfinger Hall. Now, what did Axel do?"

He heard a sniffle, and wondered for a moment what else could have happened. Was the other boy in trouble? Were Roxas and Axel hurt?

He heard a deep breath then, before his brother tried to speak slower.

"I can't believe him, Cloud! Axel tracked down the woman who bought Sasha and bought her from her!" The older boy blinked at that.

"Really..."

"Uh-huh!" Roxas sounded so unbearably happy, though. He couldn't help but smile a little. "He bought her and said he'd keep her for me!"

"Well, that's very nice of him." How the redhead's parents had agreed to this, he had no earthly clue, but if all went well, Roxas could go visit the cat and play with her anytime he wanted, without having to agitate anyone's allergies.

"So, is there a catch?"

"U-Ummm, well..." Roxas went silent for a moment, and Cloud could practically feel him fidgeting through the phone. "He said I was allowed to say no, and there'd be no hard feelings, but..."

"Yeeeees?" The blonde had a feeling he knew where this was going...

"H-He asked me..." Gulp, "i-if I'd go on a date with him."

If it were anyone else, Cloud would have kicked their ass to kingdom come. He had to be stern and uncompromising sometimes; he was Roxas's guardian now, after all, but he was already so protective of the boy. Roxas acted very young for a 16 year old sometimes, and anybody could and probably would take advantage of him.

But Axel was a different guy. A good guy, despite his punk-ish looks.

"And what did you say?"

There was a long pause then, but in between, Cloud heard whispers in the background. Whispers that hissed and laughed, before the sound of rushing air was heard.

"He said yes."

The blonde grinned then. "Good. Take care of him, Axel. If you don't, I know where you live and where you keep your matches."

The redhead chuckled, and behind him, Roxas yelped his brother's name softly. Cloud laughed too.

"Will do. And before you ask, yes, we called Tifa. She knows he'll be staying here for dinner."

"Okay. Will he need a ride home at 9?"

"Nah, Reno's got this. We'll have him back at 9 sharp, no worries."

Roxas grumbled something about not being a kid anymore, and Axel laughed. "Well, talk to you later, I guess. Roxas and Sasha have some catching up to do."

"Right. Thanks for the update. Bye you two."

The phone rustled again. "Bye, Cloud! Drive safe tonight, okay?"

He smiled. "Will do, Roxas. Bye."

* * *

><p>Written for TuxyEzra<p>

Happy Doll Festival (Girls Day), and soon to be Saint Partick's Day. And whatever else is going on right now. Derp

3/4/2014


	63. Bonds of Love pt 3

Brief A/N here: Don't ask me why some chapters are labeled as parts and others have separate names. No idea at this point. I'll try to keep future ones consistent at least and just tell you where to find previous "chapters."

That said, part 1 is chapter 15, part 2 is chapter 20. I plan for this to be the end, but who knows? Maybe more someday.

* * *

><p>"You claim that Prince Sora is responsible for his brother's absence?"<p>

Axel growled, wrapping an arm around his lover protectively.

They stood in the courtroom, which was usually reserved for smaller, more trivial meetings. Since neither prince was old enough, they could not make any major decisions, laws, trades, or sanctions without the advisement of the main council. This was seldom enforced, but a worthy precaution nonetheless, and in a matter as grim and weighty as this, much needed to prevent further abuse of power.

Now if only they would see reason.

"Yes. And while we are debating semantics here, I'll thank you to use the proper term for these proceedings. 'Kidnapping.' 'Prince Sora is responsible for his brother's kidnapping.'"

The court's whispers grew louder for a moment, as the distinguished members exchanged mixed glances.

Sora's chief advisor, and temporary agent, looked unimpressed. He, like the rest of the royal council, was old, bent, and grey, though he stood in some contrast with most of them; skinny to the point of looking bony and gaunt.

"And do you have proof of this, Prince Axel?"

The redhead nodded, retrieving and unrolling a small scroll. "This is an agreement with the Uragirimono, promising th-"

"Uragirimono?" One of the other advisors, a squat, fat old man scoffed. "How dare you!"

"No one of royal blood would breathe the same air as those scoundrels!" Another taller, bespectacled man added. "The very suggestion! I've never-"

"Let me finish!" Axel growled, leveling a glare at the other men, who promptly and indignantly took their seats again. He turned back to the chief advisor as calmly as he could manage. "This contract promises 600,000 gil and a veritable armory of top-model gun blades to the pirates, in exchange for the abduction of Prince Roxas."

"Let us examine that, if you please."

Roxas and Axel exchanged a look as the main counsel looked over the parchment for a few moments, muttering to themselves. One man motioned to the guards on the box above them, indicating that the older prince should be brought in.

"Certainly, it is the prince's handwriting..." The chief advisor hummed. He frowned up at them. "Though it lacks the royal seal."

"Of course it does! The illegal, immoral action was taken by the prince himself, outside of the law and general publicity!"

"Please lower your voice, Prince Axel." The man returned to reading the contract, his eyes narrowed a little as he sighed. "Where did you get this?"

"The agreement was constructed a while before it was carried out," Roxas said calmly, his voice slightly soft but not unheard. He looked to be wishing he was anywhere else at the moment.

"I believe your spy network is aware of the riot and subsequent change in leadership that took place in the middle of last month," Axel said, taking over again as prosecutor on the blonde's behalf. "Mine certainly was. The new leader was young, stronger but brash and inexperienced."

"Was?" The squat advisor asked. "How do you know all of this?"

Axel shook his head. "You seem to be under the impression that the Uragirimono were only a menace in your country. They pillage and raid along Kasai's borders as well. So I had every one of their speculated hideouts searched and every member therein arrested."

"You mean to say that the recent disturbances we've been hearing about...that was you?"

"You had no right crossing our borders!"

"I will gladly accept responsibility for mine and my country's actions," the prince snapped, "but those are matters to be addressed at another time. What's important here is that I have evidence of the prince's order to unlawfully dispose of his brother. As a royal guest in this country, I am appalled by the blatant favoritism and nonchalance of this supposedly ri-"

"You will hold your tongue, Prince Axel!"

The redhead clamped his jaw shut but did not back down, glaring into the eyes of the chief advisor once more.

"Prince Sora is the heir presumptive; we see none of the royal family as any more or less valuable in standing. Understand me now. What you accuse is treason, and that is not to be taken lightly." He looked to the high box beside them, where the brunet stood quietly, his expression dour. "We must thoroughly investigate this incident and all the evidence you can provide us, then take the appropriate action."

"Fine. We have several witnesses to question, in addition to that contract. Members of the Uragirimono, and the jailor who guarded Roxas in the Kūkyo Mines."

Roxas spoke up suddenly, louder than anyone expected.

"We will leave things to you. I will be returning with Axel to his country for a while."

Many of the advisors looked ready to protest, but the main man raised a hand, silencing them.

"As you wish, Prince Roxas. If it be necessary, we will watch over the country in your stead. For a short time." He nodded to Roxas, then returned his attention to the taller, redheaded prince.

"Answer me one question before we adjourn. Why did you extend so much assistance to us in recovering our lost prince?" Though nearby, Axel's country was not an established ally as of yet. Even their friends had barely taken action for the month that Roxas went missing.

Axel smirked, shutting his eyes as he turned away, tugging Roxas with him.

"I'd have thought that was obvious by now."

The entire court erupted in noise, and the head advisor tried and failed to calm everyone down. From the corner of his eye, Roxas caught his brother watching him, naked fury painting his expression.

"If you want your proof of his treachery, it's there," the blonde bellowed again, pointing a finger at the young man he once called brother.

"I ask for your mercy, but I do not care to see him again." With a heavy heart and tense shoulders, the blonde began to walk away. "Do as you see fit."

"If you'll excuse us." Axel steered him out of the room before his courage could break completely, his squeezing arm around the boy a much needed comfort.

Roxas fought back his tears and smiled stiffly, cuddling further into his lover.

Whatever was yet to come, at least he wouldn't be alone anymore.


	64. It's No Fun Being Sick

"Roxas?" Axel glanced over as he shut the T.V. off, his beloved basketball game utterly forgotten.

His blonde boyfriend lay on the couch to his left, curled up in two blankets and looking a little pale and green. Could someone really turn pale green in the face like that?

They'd been dating for four months now, and Axel had invited the younger man over to his apartment for dinner. Roxas had complained earlier that his stomach was bothering him, and Axel, ever the germaphobe, had donned a white mask on the lower half of his face and a pair of blue latex gloves. He could never be too careful.

Roxas had laughed at the sight at first, but the redhead was glad he had prepared. The other man looked like he could be sick any minute now.

The blonde groaned and shook his head, looking utterly miserable.

"I didn't even eat that much today. Why the fuck does it _hurt_?!"

"Do you want me to get you a waste basket?" They'd already tried tums and pepto, and those hadn't worked. Sometimes the only way to get better was just to get it out, but Axel would be damned if it got out on his couch. He liked his couch.

Roxas shook his head again, pushing the blankets off with a violent shiver and setting his feet on the ground.

"N-No...I'm fine." He got up, swaying a little just as Axel stood up. The redhead moved forward to steady him, but his boyfriend held up his hand. "Really, I'm fine. I just..."

Suddenly, somehow, Roxas turned paler. His eyes went wide and he clapped a hand over his mouth. Before Axel could stop him, he was clumsily sprinting to the bathroom down the hall, throwing the door open and letting it slam loudly against the wall.

The redhead hurried after him, stopping just outside to see his boyfriend kneeling on the floor, arms on the toilet rim and a look of pain and terror on his face.

Axel stepped in and knelt beside him, putting aside his disgust to run a hand comfortingly over the other man's back.

"Let it out, Roxas. Come on. You'll feel better after."

"...n-n-no..." Roxas shut his eyes and lurched forward, but held it in. Was he crying?

"I know it sucks, babe, but you have to." When the blonde stayed still, obviously fighting, Axel reached out and touched his pale cheek. Sure enough, his fingers grew quickly damp, and it wasn't sweat.

'What's wrong?' seemed like a stupid question at the moment, but Roxas swallowed heavily and leaned back as much as he could, his blue eyes scared and ashamed as he met Axel's gaze.

"I..." He struggled for a moment, then muttered something.

"What was that, babe?" He stroked his cheek gently, encouragingly. "Don't worry. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

The blonde let out a sob and a sick burp, covering his mouth again but speaking louder.

"I'm scared of throwing up."

"Well, no one likes having to do it, Rox-"

"No! You don't understand!"

Axel sat back a bit at the outburst, but waited for his boyfriend to continue.

Roxas looked at the floor. "I didn't get...sick much as a kid. When I did, I almost never threw up. I only got a bug or food poisoning a few times, but it was really bad. And it always happened when I was home alone, or when my mom was busy doing something."

The man paused occasionally, fighting his body's natural urge, and Axel couldn't help but note how young he seemed all of the sudden.

He groaned, shivering a little. "I can't control myself and it tastes awful. I hate it. I used to fight it so hard, but I could never stop it from happening."

Just then, his hand clenched harder over his mouth and Roxas jerked back around and down, heaving violently.

Axel rubbed his back some more and even grabbed a few longer stands of hair, holding them back as his boyfriend emptied his stomach.

If they had been dating longer, Roxas would have known how vehemently Axel hated germs and sickness, and how rare it was that the redhead would stay here with him now, even touching him at all. If it were just anyone else, the older man would have dashed off and barricaded himself in his room until the sickness had lifted entirely.

But he knew germs, and Axel was already guessing that this was a 24 hour stomach bug. Unpleasant, contagious, and-

The blonde sat back and coughed a bit, his eyes drifting over to meet his boyfriend's. Bloodshot from pain and crying, seeking comfort, assurance that he could make it through this. Living through 24 hours of perhaps his greatest fear on this earth.

And something clicked.

The redhead stood up and fetched two cups from the sink; one filled with water, and the other with mouth wash. He handed them each to Roxas, and then helped him to his bed. He wouldn't like it, contaminating his own personal sanctuary, but the blonde needed it.

"But," the younger man mumbled, clinging to him for dear life as they walked slowly through the room, "I don't want to get you sick."

"Hush. You're in no fit state to go home, and my couch may be comfy, but it isn't sleep comfy." He sat Roxas on the edge of the bed and fished through his drawers for a t shirt and sweats.

The blonde blushed a little, but submitted easily as Axel helped him change. He was too tired to resist.

"Where will you sleep?" he croaked, his face already looking so sorry and pitiful.

Axel smiled a little. Roxas couldn't see it behind the mask, but he could see the softness in his gaze.

"I'll figure something out."

Then, the redhead went and placed a small waste basket on the floor by the bed. He pointed at it. "Use that, if you can't make it to the bathroom."

"Mmhmmm." The younger man shifted, getting comfortable against the pillow and blankets as his eyes slipped shut.

When he quickly fell asleep, Axel went to the master bedroom sink and got a glass of water to put on the nightstand. Then, he went to the kitchen, and brought back a bit of easily-digestible food. Just some bread and plain crackers; a little stale, but they would help.

He knew that Roxas was going to be up again soon enough, probably several times, and he'd have trouble keeping anything down. He'd go disinfect the couch and rest for a bit while he waited for the inevitable.

He looked down at the other man sympathetically, brushing his bangs away from his sweaty forehead with a sigh.

Being trapped in a germy apartment with a contagious sick person was his own personal hell, but he'd make do.

Because he'd recognized in that one moment that he loved Roxas, and that the blonde's fear was more gripping, more frightening then, than his own.

He'd help him through it, no matter what. Axel wanted this one around for a long, long time.

* * *

><p>42/14 Fluff time! Sorry there was nothing for April Fool's Day. I kind of feel like that holiday is just an excuse for everyone in the world to be a jerk for a day. Think about it. How many pranks are funny, and how many are horribly teasing or cruel? "Learn how to take a joke" only extends so far, and I'll never forgive those schmucks for that Legend of Zelda movie trailer fakeout. XD


	65. Axel and Roxas Play KHII

"God, this is depressing." Roxas sighed, slumping back on the couch as the game title slowly appeared on the screen. "No wonder no one likes to play my portion."

"Except the fan girls," Axel added, reaching for his beer and washing down his mouthful of chili and cheese nachos. He gave an amused snort at the blonde's glare. "Oh, come off it. You know I'm kidding."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't make it any better." The two of them watched the scene where Sora woke up in his white, egg-shaped pod, getting giggles from Goofy and Donald as he stretched. "Seriously though. I wonder how many people were thrown off by this transition here."

"I get what you mean. Here, let's spend three hours hanging out with Blonde Haired Kid, getting all up in his emo existential drama, then bam! He's gone, practically the game's equivalent of being dead-"

"Absorbed," Roxas added, dead pan, as the cutscene continued. Sora, Donald, and Goofy began hopping around in a circle like five year olds playing Ring Around the Rosie. "I was absorbed into Sora to make him whole again."

"'Absorbed.' Whatever. Then, 'Okay, kids! On to the happy-go-lucky adventure with good old Sora!'" For once, Axel looked genuinely pensive. "It's like the writers expected gamers to just casually move on from all that drama and sadness, almost as if it didn't happen. Forget the guy they spent the last three hours with, who just had the world crap all over him and several people tell him he wasn't supposed to exist. ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET, KIDS?" The redhead widened his eyes and plastered a huge, demented grin on his face, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Whether people liked me or hated me, it probably did feel kind of weird. And did they really need to wait this long to show the damn title? What was that all about?"

The redhead shrugged, texting a bit and watching as his friend began steering Sora through Twilight Town. They both knew exactly where to find King Mickey; not only had they played this game loads of times, they actually helped make it.

"Fans really liked me," Axel said smugly, grinning when Roxas scowled. "I think I was the stand out character of this game."

"Oh please. My drama was much more compelling than your constant, 'Got it memorized?' lines." He punched the older boy's arm for good measure. "You only stand out because of your ego, and being Reno's body double. Face it; all you're good for is adding to the shipping fodder."

"Adding to the shipping fodder...Oh, and Namine didn't?" Axel teased back. "And what about you? You're just as guilty, partner."

Roxas smiled a little then himself.

"Hey, Namine did as much for the plot as you did! And I didn't have lines like, 'That's not true. I would.' And, 'He made me feel like I had a heart.'" Going the extra distance, the little blonde made dramatic, sad faces. Axel's just laughed it off though.

"The scandal! They even had to add a line in Days about the difference between friends and that mysterious, non-existent-in-game concept called 'love.' Shut the AkuRoku shippers down right there, didn't they?"

"Nah, the shippers are still going strong," Roxas said with a shrug, forcing Sora to fight the Nobodies even though it was futile. His gaze was barely on the screen now, instead fixing itself on Axel's bright green eyes. "After all, it's not like friendships can never blossom into something more."

"You bet. Some of the best relationships start out as friends first."

"Yup."

The two of them watched the fight for a few more minutes until Sora fell back on his giant red ass, seemingly defeated.

"Is it time for Triangle button combos yet?"

Axel shook his head. "Nah, I think those come after the costume change. With lots of belts and X's!"

Roxas chuckled. "That's totally a fetish of Square Enix's. I think suspenders went out of style years ago."

The redhead nodded. "Speaking of fetishes, we can't really blame the shippers now, can we? They go gaga for my stunning looks, my sexy voice, and your...eh...brooding, boy band, skater thing you've got going on."

Roxas snorted, shaking his head. "Sure, whatever. But hey, if it weren't for this game, we might never have met."

As the king came to Sora's rescue, directing the clueless trio towards the train that would take them to all-knowing Disney spelled backwards, Axel's hand slipped over his and squeezed lightly.

"Right you are, Roxas. That would have been a travesty."

The blonde set down the controller for a moment and grabbed Axel by the collar, tugging the surprised older boy down for a kiss.

"It certainly would have been," he said, giving the redhead another quick peck after the fact.

"Pizza or wings?"

* * *

><p>43/14 It's a two for one special! Almost!

This one is kind of rambling fluff with a lot of meta. What? I like the characters playfully elbowing the game and each other as if they were real life actors or existed in a paradox bubble. Sue me.

Hey, at least this time I took fewer jabs at the fangirls. I'm one myself, so my ass is covered! Plus, I don't take issue with most fans of tv, anime, video games, movies, and what have you. I prefer the fans that don't take themselves too seriously, or call things "perfect with no flaws ever." Everything has flaws, and some of them are fun to point out and celebrate! I think true fans love things despite their flaws and even sometimes for those flaws. The internet and randoms would be a lot nicer places if we could laugh at ourselves, be civil to one another, and agree to disagree.


	66. Falling From Grace

A part three to chapters 13 and 21. No real reason why, but some people were asking if Axel would ever confront his fiancé after the crazy Roxas debacle, and after the hectic weekend I've had, I finally decided, "why the hell not?" I can't explain it much, but I had a fight with someone very close to me and it was very intense and disruptive for the last couple days. Things are better now, thank god, but it was pretty painful and upsetting at the time and a little of the awkwardness is still lingering.

So in honor of that: AWKWARDNESS AHOY

4/8/14

* * *

><p>For almost an hour, Axel entertained the idea of texting Namine the situation. He could delete incoming calls or messages from her, even turn his phone off for a bit, and that would be that. For extra insurance, he'd skip town; maybe go visit his distant cousin Marluxia for a bit. They'd been close when they were boys.<p>

But all of those options were cowardly, no matter how appealing. While he fully accepted the current dubiousness of his character, Axel had made this bed and he was determined to sleep in it.

He spent the night with Roxas at the hospital, telling his girlfriend that he couldn't meet tonight, but needed to see her the following morning for coffee. His place, 9 am. They needed to discuss their relationship.

Namine arrived on time; tired and obviously concerned. Still, it seemed almost nothing could shake her gentle smile.

Axel's stomach tightened painfully as he served her coffee and store-bought pastries.

"So...last night, while I was dealing with that emergency, I got to thinking..."

"About?" she asked calmly, taking a sip of her drink as she settled on a stool, looking across the island at the fidgeting redhead.

"I haven't been completely honest with you. I don't think we should get married, and I think once you hear me out, you won't either."

Namine frowned. "So you're saying last night was a mistake?"

Axel sighed. Should he be brutal? He didn't dare hope that the girl would still want to be friends with him after this. Maybe if he acted like even more of a dick, she wouldn't feel as bad about leaving him. Maybe it'd be better if she were angry over the time she'd wasted on him, rather than clingy and desperate to make things work.

Clingy like Roxas.

He shut that thought down firmly, and swallowed.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, as Namine's gaze found the marble counter top and studied it intently, her eyes narrowed and watering around the edges. Her tears never fell, though. Axel watched her the whole time, despite how shitty he felt. The least he could do was face her, seeing and accepting the harm he was causing.

"Well," she said finally, her hands clenching a bit as her eyes found his, "why now?"

"Because I'd be marrying you under false pretenses," he said simply, fighting to keep his tone casual. "While we were dating, I cheated on you. We never really talked about exclusivity, but I should have known how important commitment is to you. I wasn't that type of guy. t stopped sleeping around a little while ago, but I can't say I'm ready to take that step now. I don't think I'm mature enough for it yet."

"You cheated?" She practically whispered it, her gaze reflecting hurt and growing anger. "Why? With whom?"

"A couple people," he lied, smooth and feeling sicker for it. "I think I go for guys more anyway." He shrugged as she looked repulsed.

"You're gay?"

"Bi, technically, but yeah. I find dick a lot more appealing. No offense."

"How is that not offensive?!" Namine cried, rising from her chair quickly.

"It's nothing against you personally. I could have been dating any girl-"

That was as far as he got before his fiancé moved.

Thankfully, Namine had finished at least half of her coffee, and the rest of it was borderline lukewarm.

Silently fuming, the blonde dropped the now empty cup, letting it shatter on the floor.

"I thought I was more than just any girl to you. I thought you loved me."

Deja vu was a real bitch.

"I thought so too," he replied quietly, wiping coffee from his face and hair as best he could. "But I don't, and you deserve better than that."

"Cut the shit, Axel!" she snapped back, coming around the island and slapping his cheek hard. "Don't stand there and tell me all these horrible things so you think you can excuse yourself from all wrong-doing!"

"I'm not! I won't change, so the least I can do is spare you the grief of marrying a worthless shit like me!"

"Ugh! You bastard!" she shouted, slapping him again. "Go die in a whole, you miserable asshole!"

Then she swiftly turned and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Tip-toeing around the broken shards of ceramic, Axel crept quickly to living room, to the front door, and pressed his ear against it. Sure enough, Namine was standing just outside. He could hear her crying, just barely holding back loud sobs of frustration and anger.

He could only imagine what his neighbors must have been thinking. Yesterday, and now this.

But there was no going back now. Hopefully she'd get over it soon, and feel better about avoiding the trap of marriage to this thoughtless scumbag. Or, as she'd put it, "miserable asshole."

If only Roxas were so lucky...

Shaking away the thoughts in his head, Axel grabbed his phone, keys, and wallet, and waited until he was sure his ex-fiance was gone.

He'd done Namine a service today, and if he was going to stay with Roxas, he'd have to do one better. He had to change himself as much as possible, be more caring and observant and supportive. Axel honestly didn't think he could have done it for anyone else. He understood now that he needed the blonde as much as Roxas needed him. Maybe he would never be able to articulate why.

Finally, the crying and thudding footsteps faded away, down the stairs. The coast was clear.

Wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye, the redhead waited one more minute, then set out to buy flowers and some goodies from Roxas's favorite convenience store.

One step at a time. For now, he'd protect the little blonde from the horror that was too much shitty hospital food.


	67. Makeup Magic

5/12/14

* * *

><p>The little blonde looked at herself in the mirror and scowled.<p>

She ripped the brush through her hair to flatten it, gelling it down as much she could. Ironically, her natural hair looked like a gelled, bedhead monstrosity without her doing a thing to it.

She clipped in a few cute little butterfly barrettes and fluffed the bottom out a bit, then moved to apply her makeup. The mirror was dusty-looking, coated in a thin layer of powder she always worked up in her frustrated endeavors, but it worked just enough for what she wanted.

A sudden pounding on the door almost made her smear her lipstick.

"Are you almost done? Five minutes, remember?"

"Shut up and let me finish!" she snapped back, leaning back and giving the door a little kick.

"Alright, but I will leave without you!"

She rolled her eyes at the sigh and retreating footsteps, moving to fix up her eyes as quickly as possible. Always the hardest for her, especially her clumsy, unsteady hands, but it gave her the most payoff. Her friends always said she had the loveliest eyes.

Somehow, she managed to get eye liner and mascara on quickly, and nodded to herself as she washed the gunk off her hands. Pretty enough, although...

The blonde reached to her chest and adjusted them a bit, then tucked her bra straps back under the v-cut t-shirt. A quick tug on her large, blooming miniskirt, and she was finally good to go.

She pushed open the door, not even flinching as a backpack was instantly tossed at her. She caught it easily, slipped it on, and ran past her roommate to slip on her shoes.

The tall, lanky redhead looked at her sadly a moment, but she couldn't see, sitting down and turning her back to him as she quickly adjusted her shoes. Damn ankle socks.

"We might be on time more often if you would just be Roxas."

Shaking her head with a growl, the blonde glared at him from over her shoulder, blue eyes piercing.

"You say that every fucking morning, Axel. Has it ever once made a difference?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "You're a stubborn little bitch. It'll probably take me ten years to get through to you."

Roxy grinned at him haughtily. "Think you'll be around that long?"

"I plan to." He stepped up beside her as she stood up, adjusting her skirt again. His green eyes were tired and a bit resigned, but no less warm as they looked at her. "No matter what."

Her smile gentled then, and she didn't object as his hand slipped into her, entwining their fingers.

Things had been rocky at first. Axel was a little weirded out when she finally admitted things to him, but by that point, she'd already hooked him. And he'd finally decided he liked her no matter what, although he leaned more to the dude side of bi.

She ducked away with a laugh, though, when he tried to kiss her.

"Bastard! Don't you dare!"

"Awww, but why?" he whined.

"Because I just did my lipstick!"

He rolled his eyes. "Guess I really am dating a girl after all."

"Uh-huh. So you'd better get used to it." She tugged him out the door and locked it, just as the school bell sounded across campus. They locked into each other's eyes and groaned.

"Shit!"

So they sprinted to their classes in the Heart Building, halfway across campus. Somehow, the partners in crime made it just in time.


	68. Dirty Little Secrets

6/5/14

Don't do drugs, kids. Or if you have to, be smart about them. And cherish your friends and loved ones, because without them, where would any of us be? Who would we be?

* * *

><p>"Come on now. Spill. It can't be all that bad."<p>

Roxas glared at him, but the redhead just kept smiling at him.

"Trust me. Whatever it is, it's not that bad."

The younger boy hesitated for a few moments, collecting himself and his thoughts. He had to know that he could trust his best friend with anything and everything, but the last thing Axel wanted to do was push him.

Maybe it was something he never told _anyone._

Finally, Roxas swallowed, looking extremely guilty and resigned.

"Fine...I..." Axel leaned closer, trying to look attentive but not too eager. "I drank a whole Sam Adams on my 16th birthday."

The older boy blinked. "That's it?"

"No!...I...uh...also smoked pot once or twice when I was in college."

"Really..."

The blonde nodded, looking ashamed for some reason. "A friend of mine had a bunch. He was always letting people try it. Then one time, he brings out this thing that runs it through water or somethin. I forget what it's called, but you know, right? So you don't get the smoke so much?" Axel nodded, slowly grinning as he watched his best bud fidgeting like virgin girl about to try full-on sex for the first time.

It was a pretty apt description, actually. Roxas had always been the better one of them. The all A's honor student from a nice, decently wealthy family.

"I liked that better, so I would do that sometimes..."

"But you don't anymore?"

Roxas shook his head. "It kinda made me paranoid sometimes..."

"Yeah. Weed'll do that."

"...I don't know. I didn't like it so much, but I was curious, and thought, 'what the hell?'!...It was pretty underwhelming, actually."

Axel nodded. "It's not a gateway drug for no reason. It's almost tamer than alcohol, so people think, "that was it?," and move on to the harder stuff. I'm glad you didn't, though. Some of that shit is hard to break."

"Have you...done any of that stuff? In college?"

"Nah. I've had a couple friends though..."

It was almost deja vu. Sitting on Roxas's old blue and white star comforter, watching stuff on his shitty, ancient little desktop. Only now it was a spiffy, state-of-the-art laptop, complete with Netflix and Hulu subscriptions, and they weren't little kids anymore.

And this definitely wasn't little kid talk. It was catching up, and some pretty intense catching up, since they'd been apart on and off for many years.

"But I told ya, Rox. That shit is nothing. I can top that without even trying." He laughed bitterly. "Didn't even have to go to college to find it. It found me."

The blonde looked at him quizzically, wordlessly motioning him to go on with the hand lazily clutching a nice, cool, local microbrewery coffee stout.

'His tastes in beer were certainly improving,' Axel thought to himself, as he sighed.

"Kay. I never told you or anyone else this. Honestly, I did my best to just forget it, but it's the kind of shit that stays with you. It's like...the gum that just won't fucking get off the bottom of my shoe, no matter how much I scrape it.

When I was a kid, you remember my folks always had a handful with my sibs?" Roxas nodded. "Yeah, well, Lea was a real bitch about going to the doctor we always went to, so when I was 5, Mom transferred all of us to a new pediatrician.

This guy seemed pretty nice, and good with kids. Lea really liked him, and the others thought he was okay, I guess. I don't know if he was always fucked up, or just decided one day, 'you know, I suddenly find little boys sexy as fuck!', but he started touching me. I think it started on my eighth visit with him."

"Jesus..." The blonde looked very upset. "Did you tell your mom?"

"Of course I did, but no one gives a shit about what 5 years old think. She told me doctors were supposed to touch me; it's their job. I kept trying to tell her, though, cuz I hated it, and she just thought I was lying, or making shit up." Axel looked at his lap and clenched his fists, the beer bottle in his hand too firm to break. He would gladly have done it, if he could. He smiled bitterly. "She finally took me seriously when I turned 8. I punched that motherfucker right in the face."

"That's...really fucked up, Ax. I'm sorry."

The redhead shrugged. "That was the one thing I never told you, or anybody. It was disgusting, embarrassing, and the fucker didn't even care that it bothered me.

So...I'm a virgin." The blonde blinked at him then, as if not believing. "Yep, it's true. Never thought I could handle anyone else's filthy hands on me."

Roxas bit his lip for a moment, thinking.

"That does explain that fit you had when we went to the infirmary that one time..."

"Oh yeah! I remember! She wanted to check my ribs, and I was all 'no fucking way, lady!'" Axel smiled with a little more genuine humor this time. "But yeah. That's probably my darkest secret." He took a good, deep swig of his drink, enjoying the cool, slightly spicy feeling in his throat. It brought a pleasant warmth to his belly though.

"I wish you'd told me that before, but I can understand." Calm blue eyes met his gaze, free of judgment, only speckled with worry, and something else he couldn't quite place. "Did you have any girlfriends?"

Axel chuckled, leaning back comfortably. "Nah. Don't really think I'm into boobs."

"How about pecs?" A lightly teasing tone grew in the other young man's voice. "Do you think you'd go for a six pack?"

He shrugged. "Maybe..."

They sat in silence for a moment, each watching the screen while their thoughts drifted elsewhere.

"Haven't given it too much thought, but you know, now that I finally told someone that shit, it's like a big chunk of the weight just dissolved off my chest." Axel spoke lowly, mild wonder in his eyes. "It's always been kind of at the back of my mind. Haunting me...I never wanted to bring it up ever again...but now...I don't know. It seems less important. Like it wasn't that big a deal after all."

"It was totally a big deal, Axel," Roxas replied firmly, giving him that look. "Not saying you shouldn't try to move on and live a normal life, but it's totally normal not to be able to just shrug something like that off. People'd probably think you were weird if you did."

"Plenty of them think that anyway," the redhead pointed out casually, wincing when his best friend punched his arm. "Hey!"

"You know what I mean!" And slowly, the blonde softened. "I'm just glad you're okay, and you're back here again."

Axel blinked, sitting up a little straighter when he saw...a blush? Roxas was blushing?

He seemed to blush even more when he caught his friend staring.

"I've been waiting a long time to tell you something. A-And I thought it best to say it in person."

He nodded. "Okay..." A slow grin crept over his face, and his heart began to beat a little faster. He knew it wasn't just the alcohol, too. "So?"

Roxas frowned. "Don't rush me...and you damn well better take this seriously, Axel Reeve, or I swear I'll-"

"Okay, I get it!" Despite his frustration, he was still grinning like mad. "Fess up already!"

"I like you!"

His face practically hurt, he was grinning so wide now. A few moments passed, and the blonde looked down at his lap, fiddling with his fingers as he clenched his jaw and blushed.

"I like you too, kid."

"Don't fuck around with me, Axel!" he snapped, turning and scooting closer so he could glare him in the eye. He was still pretty damn short, even now, after all these years. "This is serious, okay? You know what I me-"

The older boy pulled him close and shut him up with a firm kiss.

"Do you believe me now?" he practically purred as they parted, laughing at the dazed, blissful look in his friend's eyes.

"...Uh-huh...sure..."

"Great, cuz that means I can do that again!"

And he did.

* * *

><p><em>True friendship never dies. It doesn't fade with time or distance, changes,<em> secrets,_ broken promises, or any of that other crap. It sticks with you, wherever you go, and sometimes..._

_Well, sometimes it can grow into something more..._


	69. Never Trust a Lynx

7/12/14

* * *

><p>Axel parried a blow with his chakrams, then ducked and swung low at the guard's midsection. His blades cut through easily, and with a terrible scream, the man fell to the floor in a heap, his blood spraying the floor and the adjacent wall.<p>

Similar screams echoed all around him, but the redhead didn't care.

He heard and saw nothing. Not his companions, as they fought through the crowd behind him. Not Sora and Riku plowing through a gang of guards with their swords and near perfectly coordinated moves. Not Demyx spearing man after man while Zexion watched his back, expertly throwing daggers. Not any of the rest of the Kitsune village that had come with them to put a stop to this wretched ceremony. He barely even had a taste for cold vengeance.

Axel only had eyes for Roxas.

He'd been taken from him nearly a week ago, kidnapped in the confusion of a raiding party. The Ooyamaneko frequently gave them trouble, forcing them to compete for resources, and this seemed to be just another petty, cowardly attempt to steal and decrease their enemies' population a bit.

But not so, Zexion explained. Now they had sought foreign help to destroy their stronger competition once and for all. The raid had just been a distraction.

_Cowards..._

The spies had come back with disturbing news. A Saru priest was conspiring with them, directing them with his outlandish predictions and visions. Instead of fighting with honor, the Ooyamaneko had built some mechanized monstrosity to eradicate the Kitsune. They planned to lure them into a trap and slaughter them all like animals.

No one could find out exactly how it worked, but they did discover the key piece that would power the thing.

Blood. And not just any blood, but the young, strong blood flowing freely through the veins of the next village leader.

Roxas's blood.

Axel snarled. He'd never been fond of the wildcat hybrids, but this was sick and underhanded.

_How dare they?_

Shouldering and cutting his way past more enemies, the redhead burst into a long room with a strange altar at the end. Kicking the door shut behind him and breaking the handle off, he looked around for other people and doors in the room, spotting one of the former standing before the altar. It was the filthy Saru.

A low, guttural sound echoed around him. Chanting...

"Hey!"

The man turned and bared his teeth, but he didn't have a moment to speak or move otherwise. Sprinting right to him, Axel chucked one chakram midway there, successfully stabbing he man right through his large, intricate red robes.

Ignoring the spluttering, gasping indignities, the redhead looked immediately to the altar. His lover and dearest childhood friend knelt in front of it, almost hanging with his arms bound to it, up and away from his body. He looked deathly pale, and a few strange tubes were stuck over his exposed torso, the largest of which right beside his heart. They appeared to be taking blood from him.

"Roxas!"

Instead of reaching for him, he grabbed the man he'd just injured and jerked him up off the ground. "Stop the ritual."

"You're too late," the man wheezed. He coughed up a bit of blood, then said, "The ritual cannot be stopped. Not until every drop of blood is drawn from him."

"Can the flow be reversed?" When the man gave no answer, he shook him harshly. "CAN IT BE REVERSED?!"

"Nnnn...N-No..."

Axel dropped him carelessly. Then, as quickly as he could, he sliced the tubes and stopped all suction.

"H-How did you get past the-"

"Silence!" the red Kitsune spat, kicking back with his foot and cracking the slumped man in the jaw. He said no more after that.

The blonde fell limply in his arms the second he'd cut him down, and Axel laid him gently on the floor, tearing scraps of his sleeves to staunch the still flowing blood. Its pull became faster now, and it frightened the redhead terribly.

"Roxas! Roxas, wake up!" He shook the boy in his arms repeatedly, trying and failing to keep the cold, gripping fear out of his voice. "Roxas, please!"

_Don't leave me!_

Blue eyes fluttered open, but only halfway. The blonde smiled tiredly, his golden ears drooping to the sides of his head.

"What...took you so long?"

Axel clenched his eyes shut and shook his head, as a few tears leaked at the corners.

"Sorry. We got sidetracked." That was all he could manage, relieved as he was.

Axel leaned down and kissed the boy tenderly. He fought the urge to deepen it, knowing it was neither the time nor the place for such things, but he needed something. He needed to know that he hadn't lost Roxas. The blonde responded slowly, and managed to lift one hand and clasp his shoulder, shivering even under such light affection.

The redhead finally sat back, composing himself with a cough. "Can you fight?"

Roxas shook his head sadly. "I'm too weak. They shot me full of something funny and took my blades away. I could barely move."

"Don't worry," Axel said, as he turned and knelt. Leaning close to the altar, he managed to help Roxas onto his back and hoist him up. "I'll get you home."

"Axel...my father?"

The older boy nodded. "He's alive. Cloud hurt his arm, but it isn't too serious. He and the others are waiting someplace safe for us to come home."

"What about the others?"

"They'll be fine. The Ooyamaneko weren't expecting us to catch wind of their scheme and retaliate. By the time their warriors arrive, we'll be long gone."

"And the guards?"

Before he could answer, the door he had come through before fell to the floor with a loud crash, blasted off its hinges.

"Roxas!"

The blonde lifted his head slightly and smiled.

"Hey, Sor...I see you have things take care of."

The brunet nodded, his eyes suddenly teary. He sniffled and smiled.

"I'm so glad you're alright."

Riku came up beside him, nodding with a warm smile while he wiped a bit of blood from his long sword.

"Glad to see you're still alive, brat."

Normally, Roxas would have chewed his ears off. Today, he just nodded, cuddling further into Axel's back and closing his weary eyes.

Axel called to the others as they came up behind Sora and Riku. "How many left?"

"None," Zexion said calmly. His hair always hung down and covered one eye, but beneath the grey-purple bangs was a large, red stain, reaching all the way down to his cheek. "Everyone we didn't kill fled the temple."

"No telling when they'll be back with reinforcements," Kairi, Axel's little sister, added irritably. Her ears and hair were blood red, identical in color to her brother's but straighter. "As much as I'd love to tear into them some more, I think we should return to Cloud and the others."

Axel nodded, as did most of the others. "Then we can discuss what must be next. Right now, Roxas needs seeing to."

"Great!" Another blonde Kitsune, Demyx, chimed in. "It's settled! Let's get out of this creepy place!"

Riku snorted, but made no comment. Demyx was the biggest coward in the village, but when he was made to fight, he had talent and skill that would be sorely missed otherwise.

"Gather everyone," Zexion said firmly, as they reentered the main room. "I want no one left behind."

The other village warriors met the small group at the door, and after a thorough search, they quickly set off together for the hidden thicket they had retreated to after the attack on the village.

The Ooyamanekos' plan was foiled; the blood they had drained would go bad, and they hadn't taken all of it. The machine needed every drop of blood, and the blessings and charms of the priest, in order to function. Even if their enemies regrouped, the Kitsune were on to their treachery and desperation. They would prepare to fight back by any means necessary.

Whatever the wildcats brought against them next, the fox people would be even more cunning. There would be no mercy. This, Axel swore with all his heart.


	70. I, Me, Mine, and Us

7/23/14

* * *

><p>"I'm your master from this day forward."<p>

The boy just nodded, his face calm but underlined with faint traces of sorrow.

_It's not fair, _Axel thought to himself. After everyone had been dismissed and his parents had retreated to their chambers for the evening, the youngest prince stole away, sneaking after his brother and the servant boy he'd just been given. He watched them from behind a pillar, glaring at Reno jealously as the two talked.

Everyone important had their own servant. Reno has said so once, when they were younger. Some people even had more than one, they were that important. It was a rite of passage, receiving your first one. Personal servants could do chores, but also keep tallies, reminders, run errands; all sorts of things that the communal palace servants couldn't, or weren't free to.

_He_ hadn't been given a servant. Not from the recent delivery of slaves, and certainly not the small blonde boy; the prettiest of all of them. Axel hated that.

"Please, lord..."

"Come now. You can ask nicer than that."

The younger redhead kept his eyes on the servant boy, the way his hands trembled slightly, still chained together but not tightly. The way he instinctively hunched forward slightly, submissive and pleading. His voice was a lovely tenor, with an accent barely hidden beneath the softness and trembling. Axel wasn't sure why he seemed so timid, but his brother's smile promised mischief, entirely too pleased with himself. What was he thinking?

_Reno could have anyone he wanted! _Had he picked the boy because he was pretty? Or had he seen his younger brother's admiring gaze, remembered his wish for a personal servant all his own, and robbed him of the opportunity?

_It's my birthday tomorrow! He should have been mine!_

"Please, Master Reno..." The boy tried again, drawing a smirk from the eldest prince. Reno stroked his cheek gently, almost lovingly, as he regarded him.

"Much better. Now, what is it, pet?" The blonde swallowed visibly, shying away from his hand slightly.

"I can go? Just for short time," he hurriedly added, seeing that smirk beginning to twist into a frown. "Just an hour. Ple-"

Reno slapped him, and the rest of his words died on the air.

Even Axel stepped back, surprised, at such an action.

"You have no right to such things," Reno replied irritably, grabbing hold of the boy's chin and turning his head to face him fully again. "I own you. You will do what I tell you to, when I tell you to, and nothing else. Do you understand?"

"...Yes, Master," the boy said, after a brief pause. His voice was near a whisper, and it made Axel shiver. He could feel the fear emanating from it, even so soft as it was.

"Perhaps, if you are good, I'll allow you some time away." Reno smirked devilishly then, as the blonde looked up nervously. He began whispering smoothly.

"For starters, I want you to..."

Axel saw the boy go rigid. He nodded slowly, but looked like he might cry at any moment. Whatever Reno wanted, it wasn't good.

Axel didn't wait to find out. The youngest prince strode briskly from his hiding spot just as the blonde slowly sank to his knees.

"Brother!" he called, drawing a surprised and angered look from Reno and a frightened and humiliated one from his servant.

"What, Axel? What could you possibly want _now_?"

"Mother...has asked to see you in her room! At once!" he fibbed, with surprising ease. "She told me it was important!"

"What for?" his brother drawled back, rolling his eyes. "What could have come up at this hour of the night?"

"I believe she said it was...a letter! Yes, a letter! Prince Rude has-!"

"Wait, Rude? Rude's coming to visit?" Reno grinned like a kid with pilfered sweets. "Why didn't you say so? Anything else?"

"I don't know. You should go ask her," Axel replied, looking down and shuffling his feet with a smile.

His brother rolled his eyes. "Useless brat." But he hurried off all the same, smile wide, leaving Axel and the still kneeling, gaping servant boy alone in the room.

After a moment of staring after his new master, the blonde's gaze fell to the floor. He did not move to stand, and as Axel looked at him unabashedly, it seemed to him that the boy's blue eyes shimmered with contained tears.

"If you want some time alone now, I can cover for you," Axel offered softly. Despite wanting the pretty servant for his own and knowing he could probably order him to help him instead, the youngest prince quieted himself for once.

The look in those eyes was enough to give him pause; to think of another, who looked lost and miserable even in new silks and beautiful golden chains.

The boy nodded, standing slowly then. He hugged himself, but didn't move otherwise.

"Thank you," he said softly. Axel smiled a little at that.

"You speak pretty well. What is your name?" It occurred to him then that he didn't know. He briefly wondered if Reno knew, or had even bothered to ask.

Probably not.

The blonde looked up, somewhat surprised. "Roxas."

"And how old are you, Roxas?"

"T-Twelve, my lord." So only two years below himself, and four below Reno. The young redhead couldn't recall his father ever taking slaves so young before. The others that the blonde had come with were all much older, and mostly women.

"I am Prince Axel," he corrected gently. "Call me that in public, but you can just say Axel in times like this."

Roxas blinked at him owlishly for a moment, but finally nodded, his eyes lighting with the smallest hope.

"You would...let me be for an hour, Pri- Axel?"

"Sure. Just so long as you stay out of trouble."

The boy nodded, and began to fidget with his hands.

"Perhaps... a candle, also?" He tried to gesture it as he spoke. "Please?"

He blinked. "A candle?" Roxas nodded hesitantly. "Why?"

The blonde rang his hands in front of him, looking down with tears in the corners of his eyes. "I wish to...t-to mourn my family, somehow. Give a light for them. I..." He placed his hands over his heart, his chains rattling slightly. "I feel a great emptiness here. It fills with nothing; not food or drink or bed. Nothing but hurt and sadness."

"Oh..." He hadn't thought of that. "Was it war?" he asked then. He hadn't been paying much attention after he spotted the blonde in the crowd.

Roxas shook his head. "Raiders. Looting, angry at our lord. They killed so many, skewered like animals..." The boy shivered and hugged himself again, holding back a small sob. "My parents also. And burned. The rest sold to slavers. I also."

Axel couldn't imagine such a thing happening to himself, though not much was truly impossible. What if someone tried to overthrow the kingdom, or his father?

He still couldn't fathom it, but his desire to own the boy before him softened a bit. Reno owned Roxas, as Axel wished he could own him, but a servant was still a person. His life was supposed to revolve around Reno now, but who could possibly ask him to completely forget everything that came before? Hopes, dreams, and loved ones lost?

Many at the palace seemed happy enough, but the young prince hadn't thought to ask them where they came from, or why. Or if they were truly happy. Now, he slowly began to wonder.

"Come here," he ordered, spreading his arms wide. Roxas looked afraid at first, but he did as he was told. As soon as hands touched his back, embracing with a strong but painless pressure, the blonde's sobs burst forth, loud and incoherent.

Axel held him for what felt like an eternity, whispering soft assurances that everything would be alright. For once, he did not care that his shirt was growing soiled, nor that someone of lesser birth was touching him so easily, completely. Maybe it was still just how sweet and pretty the servant looked, but Axel thought he seemed genuinely nice, and felt sad for what he had suffered.

Perhaps, in another life, they could have been good friends.

Roxas began rambling in another language he didn't understand, but Axel could guess the meaning of his words. He only wished there was something he could do...

"I will speak with Mother and Father in the morning," he said finally. Roxas hiccuped, but looked up at him then, eyes and nose shining red.

"To?"

"To give you to me, instead of my brother. I won't hurt or demean you, and I will offer you some freedoms, so long as you are respectful and work hard for me."

The blonde shook his head. "Why...?"

Axel shrugged slightly. "Because. Would you feel better?"

"I...yes. You are most kind, Prince Axel."

"Just Axel, remember?"

Roxas nodded, wiping the last tears from his eyes and sniffling with a smile.

"Axel."

The redhead smiled widely. "Good. You can work for me, but why don't be friends from now on, okay?"

"I would like. Yes...Axel. Thank you."


	71. That's Just Wrong

"Excuse me, sir?" Icy blue eyes met his, a mischievous gleam in them. Axel didn't like it one bit.

"Oh good, you've noticed. Another Sex on the Beach, as quick as you can make it."

_'Subtle.'_ Axel exchanged a glance with Riku, the bartender who'd served him two before, then looked back at the man. "It's not that. I saw you hold something over that guy's drink."

The man beside the first guy, who almost looked too young to be in this bar, looked down at his girly drink with wide eyes, his mouth gaping slightly.

The first guy frowned. "I'll thank you not to toss out accusations like that lightly, mate. You've startled my friend here."

"With good reason," Axel replied cooly. "This is a respectable establishment, and I'm a respectable guy. Ask anyone." Behind him, the silver-hairted bartender nodded. "I know what I saw."

The man growled.

"Take that sleazy shit elsewhere, limey. And if you're going to pull that right at the bar, you can damn well be subtler about it."

The tab was swiftly closed for the evening. The brit paid his bill, and Axel saw that his name was Luxord McCalman.

All the while, as Luxord grumbled and Riku sniggered in the background, the man sitting beside Luxord looked between him and Axel dumbly, a hint of fear in the sudden paleness of his cheeks. Though that could easily have been the lighting.

"Bollocks, this." The taller blonde didn't spare a single glance at the other man. He glared daggers at the redhead in front of him until he grabbed his coat, turned, and stormed out.

"Disgusting." Axel then turned to the other man, noticing only now that his drink was reduced by a third. "Shit. You drank that?"

"I didn't know!" the young blonde yelped, his gaze panicked. "W-What's going to happen to me?!"

Axel waved his hands placatingly. "I don't know. Calm down, okay?" He quickly checked the wall clock. "My shift is over in ten minutes. Just in case, how about I drive you home? You drove, right?"

"Yes, but didn't you drive?" the other man asked quickly. "What about your car?"

The redhead bit his lips. "That does pose a bit of a problem...and Riku here's not off until closing time...well, do you want to crash on my couch?"

The look he received was like he'd sporadically sprouted a second head.

"What? I can slap a sticker on your car so no one can tow you, and then just bring you back here in the a.m."

"How can I trust you? How do I know you're any different than that guy?"

Riku folded his arms, sighing as he saw someone wave at him from further down the bar.

"I don't make friends with rapists, kid. Besides, if he was the same as that pervert, he probably wouldn't have said anything."

"Right. And anyway, you'll get my name and address. If I tried to pull anything, you could lead the police right to me."

The man looked down at the table and fidgeted slightly, clearly weighing his options. He looked up at Axel once doubtfully.

"Hurry up, kid. I don't have all night, and neither do you." Axel glanced at the poisoned drink. "That could kick in any time, for all we know."

"I only had a little," the man pouted.

"You don't know what he used, and neither do we," Riku added, rejoining the conversation and wiping a cloudy glass with a cloth. "Could be more than enough."

With some hesitance, the guy finally agreed.

Coats donned, the two men bustled out of the bar and into the much quieter night. There was a chill in the air; a half a foot of snow on the grass, and barely a hint of powder on the streets.

The other man checked his car, then locked it and walked over to Axel's. The redhead opened the door for him, and then they were both in, adjusting their snug seat belts and basking in the sputtering influx of warm air.

As they drove, the blonde finally said, "My name is Roxas, by the way. Thank you for helping me."

Axel smiled a little. "No prob, kid. It's a shitty thing to do to anyone...Just be sure to watch your drink next time."

"I went to the bathroom..."

"So order a new one. Or take it with you. Creepers eat naive, cute things like you up, so you've got to be careful. There won't always be someone like me to spot for you."

Roxas blushed and looked away.

"I'm not cute."

The redhead shrugged. "I think so."

"You know, this isn't making me feel the most confident in my decision..."

"Hey," Axel said quickly, flashing him a winning smile, "I'm not a creeper, okay? I won't molest you, so calm your tits."

Roxas scoffed, then blinked and rubbed his eye. His driver spotted the motion in the corner of his vision.

"You okay?"

The blonde shook his head, but not quite as a negative. More as though he was trying to clear it a bit.

"I feel a bit dizzy..."

"Did you drink before he bought you one?"

A nod. "A-A few. Ones that I bought."

"And nobody touched?"

Another nod. "I'm sure."

Axel nodded back. "Well, take it easy."

* * *

><p>Roxas passed out a few minutes before they pulled up to Axel's apartment.<p>

The redhead carried him through the door, set him on the couch, and threw a blanket over him. He then sat down and wrote out a little note for when the blonde woke up, in case he freaked out. Axel didn't have plans to be anywhere the next day, but he figured this would support his claims of being a stand-up citizen, and soften the man if his memory was spotty.

Next, he fished a cell phone from the front right pocket of Roxas's pants and texted a few random people the situation, along with his name and number.

And maybe he overstepped his bounds then, but he punched in his own number into the contact list.

Inappropriate given the circumstance? Sure, but Axel was ever the optimist. If all went well, and the kid wasn't creeped out, maybe Axel would be lucky and get an eventual date out of this bizarre incident.

He'd heard of worse proposals.

* * *

><p>926/14

I feel like Axel is a total sleaze ball with this last couple of lines XD

At least he's not taking advantage.

Also, I have nothing against the British, personally or otherwise.


	72. The Next Morning

Following from the last chapter...

* * *

><p>Being awoken before 7am is never a gentle, pleasant experience for Axel.<p>

Being awoken by a _blood-curdling scream_ before 7am was absolutely shit-your-pants terrifying.

"What?!" He jerked upright in bed, only to be met with more screams echoing from outside. "What the fuck?!"

As he stumbled out of bed, nearly face-planting as he untangled his legs from the covers, the redhead quickly remembered his unexpected guest from the previous night. Roxas. He was, most likely, the cause of the disturbance.

_'Jesus Christ! I thought he might freak out, but _this_...'_

Axel sprinted to the living room, only to stop dead and gape open-mouthed.

"GET IT OFF ME!"

Picture this, if you will: a pale, wide-eyed boy strewn across your couch, wriggling under two lax dogs the size of miniature horses, while keeping his arm stock still to avoid jostling what looked to be a wasp crawling slowly across his hand.

Axel had no idea where to begin.

"Guys..."

As he struggled to find words that weren't confused or fragments of laughter, his guest's attention snapped to him. Roxas looked caught between terrified and furious.

"HURRY UP AND GET THIS THE FUCK OFF ME!"

Given a brief thought, Axel concluded that he was awake and referring to the stinging bug. He walked calmly to the kitchen, retrieved a glass and some dinky little hardboard flier that had come with the rest of his mail, and came back.

"HURRY UP, WILL YOU?!"

"Stop shouting already," he replied loudly, though not nearly as loudly as Roxas. "The last thing I need is angry neighbors on me, early in the morning..." He put the cup over the wasp so that it couldn't fly away.

The blonde trembled a little, but thankfully lowered his voice. "Get it off me. Please get it off me now."

"Are you allergic or something?"

"N-No...i-it's a p-phobia."

Calmly, smoothly, Axel slid the flier under the glass. The wasp hopped up on it as it was jostled, then flew up to one side of the glass as he lifted it away.

"There now. Do you want the dogs off too?" He'd nearly forgotten about them last night, assuming they were snuggling asleep somewhere. They were squeezing to fit with Roxas on that couch, and, sadly, his bed wasn't that much bigger. They slept with him sometimes when they were puppies, though.

Roxas shook his head with a deep sigh. "No, they're fine." He smiled as he pet them, jokingly wheezing as one rubbed its head against his chest. "What are their names?"

Axel smiled back as he went to the window. He was soon shooing the bug outside.

"They're both Harlequin Great Danes. The one with more spots is Pepper, and the other is her brother Salt."

"They're litter mates?"

"Well, no," the redhead conceded. "They're not technically brother and sister, but I adopted them and they play all the time. Haven't seen any other interest between them, so yeah..." He scratched the back of his head. "I just like the call them that."

The blonde's smile widened.

"That's cute."

Surprisingly, the boy seemed to have neither hangover nor memory loss. So, after stirring the dogs, and a quick check to make sure everything was working fine again, Roxas followed Axel to the kitchen for breakfast. Salt and Pepper trotted behind them, then began sniffing the floor around the stove.

The couch, like the kitchen, was too small for all of them, so Roxas took a seat at the table in the living room.

"Oh, by the way, here." Axel passed him his phone back, and shrugged at the raised eyebrow he received. "I let some of your friends know what was up."

Roxas's eyes widened, and he immediately looked away, a furious blush spreading over his face. "You didn't need to do that."

"Not really, but I wanted to be safe." _'And prove to you that I wasn't a creeper.'_

"Thanks, but now they'll all be chewing me out for this."

Axel yawned as he turned to start up the coffee maker. "If you can't take the consequences for mistakes, you should make less of them. And anyway, this situation could have gone a shit ton worse."

The other boy sighed, but Axel saw him nod out of the corner of his eye. "I guess."

"If they're upset with you, it's just because they care."

"Okay, I get it. What are you, a fortune cookie?"

"No, but as a father of two, I do my fair share of worrying myself." He pet Salt and Pepper fondly, scratching behind their ears.

Roxas rolled his eyes, but he was smiling openly again.

This was vastly different from what Axel had been expecting, but hey, he was open-minded. Nothing else about the situation was normal anyway, so why would this be?

The two chatted for a bit, feasting on dry cereal and berries that were nearly overripe. Roxas texted a few people as the conversation went on, but seemed to want to match his host's eye contact as much as possible.

Was he wrong, or was Axel detecting subtle, flirty vibes from this guy?

Then the blonde said, "So I guess I owe you lunch now, or something..."

"Hm?" Axel drank his coffee, then set the mug down. "Why?"

"Because you helped me out. And you still haven't asked me for anything." That cute blush appeared again, but this time slightly subdued.

"Why would I want something from you? Isn't it possible for a man to do a good dead without expecting compensation?"

"It is, but I highly doubt you fit the bill when you've plugged your number into my phone."

Axel choked a little, spitting lukewarm coffee onto the table. He coughed and tried to regain himself, half noting that the dogs were looking at him anxiously. Roxas was watching at him too, his expression innocent but for that coy little smile.

_'Well, at least he_'s _not weirded out.'_

Or maybe he was just a weird fucker, and he liked Axel's weirdness.

_'Either way suits me.'_

"Well," he said finally, a bit hoarse, "If you were to insist on buying me lunch, I wouldn't stop you."

Hope suddenly flowered brightly in deep blue eyes, and Axel was, one again, caught off guard.

_'What's with that look?' _It was...beautiful.

"I insist whole-heardtedly." His youthful face made him look quite a bit like a kid at Christmas, but then he coughed once and closed his eyes, looking like he was trying to be more serious. Less eager. "When would work for you?"

_'Too late.'_

Axel grinned and laid a hand over Roxas's free one on the table.

"Would this afternoon be too soon?"

* * *

><p>...Want a third part? I can try to come up with one at some point, if you'd like it XD<p>

10/30/14


	73. Sins of Passion

"Have you ever felt the music pulsing inside you? Possessing you, screaming for you to move with it, or else you'll crumble away into nothingness?"

The redhead with acid eyes smirked back at him, though he did not see it. "I have felt all of life's pleasurable desires, boy."

In a small, dark hospital room, silent but for the soft, echoing beeps of machines in the hall, a young man sat on a cot and stared out the window, into the night. His fingers twitched occasionally, and he suffered in the crushing stillness of it all.

"No one has ever understood." He clasped his hands together to keep them from fidgeting more. "I could never put it into words so that it made sense to them..."

"I understand perfectly."

He looked over at the man who stood lounging lazily against the wall, almost putting himself on display.

"I sensed your fear when first I arrived, but never once has your heart wavered. Not even then. It is quite interesting..."

"I'm not afraid of you," the blonde replied stubbornly, earning him a chuckle.

"So much greater a fool you are, then." He righted himself and strode forward, right up to the bed. He cupped the young man's face and lifted it, looking at him appraisingly.

"It is a heavy price to pay, Roxas."

"I was born to move. If I can't move, it's no different than if I'd died too." Blue eyes met his gaze boldly then, sparkling with the first glimmer of life they had held in months. "Take what you want. I don't care, as long as you keep your word."

The redhead smirked again.

"I love that spirit...Very well then." He bent forward quickly, sealing their lips in a searing, tingling kiss.

For a moment, Roxas squirmed out of uncertainty. Axel could taste it in the air, and upon his lips. Fear. He had never tasted the like of it before, but he had felt it in other ways.

He paused for a moment and opened his eyes, gazing directly into Roxas's. There was no longer any trace of seduction there, or persuasion of any kind. Only stillness, and a silent question.

He was, after all, a creature of his word.

Ever since he was little, the blonde loved music. He loved the emotions tied to it; all of the feelings that it evoked inside him, and the way it guided his movements.

Rhythm.

Against his father's wishes, Roxas took up ballet, and after many years of hard work, he became a talented young soloist. But it didn't stop there. Outside of school and work, he read and researched different kinds of dance, took classes and joined clubs. He didn't have many friends then, but he made a few good ones and even more nice acquaintances.

But he'd never met anyone else who shared his passion.

Nearly every style enthralled him. He wanted to take the world by storm; to create beauty in motion for everyone to see and hear and feel, all at once. The world was always turning, and he wanted to turn with it. He wished so desperately sometimes that it hurt.

It was a labour of love, not glory or fame. Music and dance were his nirvana; a euphoria that captured him completely, body and soul, and shut out all the nagging worries, the hurt, the insecurities, everything that was wrong with life. None of his father's judgment, his friends' or even his own doubts could penetrate his thoughts when he moved.

In dance, he was always happy. In dance, he had complete control.

And now, here he sat in this dreary, blank room that stunk of bleach and wilted flowers. Now, here he sat, truly alone for the first time in his life. That terrible crash took everything from him: his parents, his future, and any feeling and control he would ever have from the waist down.

Axel read the thoughts that flashed through those eyes, until they finally found their answer. This time, when he kissed the young man, arms wrapped around his neck and tangled in his fiery hair, pulling him closer. Deeper.

His smirk returned, and he dove into the kiss with as much passion as any human could handle.

Beneath him, Roxas began to writhe, gripping him tightly and moaning wantonly into his mouth. Blue eyes fell shut and pale cheeks flushed as he responded eagerly to Axel's advances, but after a moment, the redhead pulled away.

The blonde whined in disappointment, panting hard for breath.

"That is but a taste, boy." He touched his newest victim's cheek, letting the nails dig slightly into tender flesh. "Your wish is granted. Remember well, Roxas, that you belong to me, and when your time is done, I shall use you as I see fit, forever."

With that, the demon vanished.

Roxas laid there for a moment, catching his breath and pondering the weight of his commitment.

When he moved to sit up, he was amazed by how easily it came to him. After another moment or so, he reached out to touch his feet, still bound up in casts.

Inside them, he wiggled his toes. He gasped, and squeezed the small, moving digits.

Eagerly, the blonde tore the gauze away until there was no more. He pushed aside the covers and set his feet on the ground before shooting up onto them.

He yelped then, and would have fallen, had he not been caught.

"You still need to recover," the demon chided, scooping the unsuspecting man up into his arms and holding him there. "Don't be too eager, Roxas. With some time and practice, your legs will regain their full strength and more."

"So it's true..." Tears came to Roxas's eyes then, and he clutched the redhead tighter, burying his face in his chest and sobbing with joy. "Thank you."

Axel said nothing, but gently rocked him in his arms. Before he could dance, he would have to learn to walk again, but some of the vast, soul-deep longing inside of Roxas's heart was quenched, after so long of being rejected. Axel could feel it through him in so many ways, and he smirked.

His little human's happiness was addictive.

The blonde soon fell asleep, and his demon tucked him back into bed gently, before settling in to watch for a bit. It would be a while before any nurses would come to check on him, and even longer still before he would get other visitors. Axel chuckled to think of their reaction when the severely paraplegic blonde showed signs of movement once more.

"Don't you fret, little one," Axel whispered softly, running his hands through soft hair. "I like you a lot, and there are many perks to be mine."

He was young himself, though not as young as the human before him. Roxas was his first captured soul, but surely not his last. Demons, agents of sin and desire that they were, loved to corrupt mortals. But like the pure, pious, powerful angels, they were nothing if not honest.

"Heaven is overrated, anyway."

* * *

><p>1114/14


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